Beating a Fear of Success

Mytikas Summit by Bignoter

I remember a student I once had in a high school Biology class.  He was a smart kid, but deliberately failed Biology so his Dad would not expect him to continue to perform well.  A blog post I saw a few weeks ago reminded me of this young man.  I commented on the post and moved on, but I keep reflecting on the idea of fearing success.

Perhaps it is more common than I had thought.  In the writing world a published author is expected to continue to produce excellence.  Is that something we should fear?  Very successful authors become very public people.  Is that something we want?  Many people picture authors living in rosy homes with no real-life stresses.  Are we comfortable with that?

While these are interesting ideas, I can't imagine them providing enough motivation to sabotage my plans!  Since I've spent the last few weeks musing on the idea I thought I'd share a few coping tricks for beating off any occasional fears of succeeding.

• Be afraid.  Really, it's okay.  We're all afraid sometimes.  Just keep writing (or querying or editing)!
• Ask yourself, "Exactly what is so scary?"  It's easier to convince that inner voice that it is safe when you know what is scaring it.
• Adjust your expectations.  "Happily ever after" is still a lot of work.  Embrace it!
• Remember who YOU are!  (I know, enough Mufasa!)  But it is important to believe in yourself.  You have a spark of creative genius that can give life to anything you choose.  So, do it!

In the end, I think not pursuing a dream is worse than not passing Biology.  Biology is a goal someone else imposes on teenagers; our dreams are our own.  We can make them happen!  What do you think?  Are you ever afraid of success?  What are your coping strategies?