Are You Afraid of Success?

I recently launched a new Facebook group called Born to Create . Every week, I pose several questions to the group to help us engage our creative powers and take action. When I asked the group to share a problem or struggle they are currently dealing with, one of the members said, “The number one fight is definitely fear. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of not finishing, fear of too many things!”

His comment was particularly insightful because the fear of success seems totally counterintuitive. If success is something we all want, why we would fear it? It turns out that success, just like failure, comes with its own set of fears that can hold us back. And the only way to face your fears is to expose them.

In this post, I’ll explore four fears related to success, as well as strategies to deal with them. These fears are common to anyone who wants to achieve more in life, particularly—maybe especially—artists, writers, and creatives of all kinds. My hope is that this post will help you acknowledge your fears and take action in spite of them.

Fear #1: My success will expose me as a fraud.

I remember when I launched my book The Artist’s Suitcase: 26 Essentials for the Creative Journey. Despite the fact that I have been involved in the creative arts my whole adult life, and have been teaching in that area for well over a decade, I was afraid someone would call me out for being a fake.

When we put our work out there for people to enjoy, we do so with a deep knowledge of our failures and shortcomings. It’s easy to feel that the “art police” will somehow come and take our badge away because we’re not perfect.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The only way you can be considered a fraud is if you claim to be someone you’re not. Failure doesn’t make you a fraud—it makes you human.

ACTION STEP: Remember that your imperfections and flaws don’t detract from your art—they are a key part of it.

Fear #2: My success is just a fluke.

Success is a funny thing. Most of the time, it’s a product of years of hard work. But there are times when it comes quickly, as a result of favorable circumstances.

For example, no one would argue that Rebecca Black’s infamous song “Friday” deserved its enormous success based on artistic merit. But yet she found herself the center of worldwide attention for a brief time.

The real question is not whether your success was a fluke. Instead, the real question is what you do as a follow-up. If you are a true artist, you will continue to create despite the ups and downs of fame, and the shifting winds of taste and culture. (We can all learn a lesson from Tony Bennett’s insistence on excellence over the long haul.)

ACTION STEP: Worry less about the ups and downs of success that are out of your control, and focus on consistently doing excellent work.

Fear #3: My success will make me accountable for more results.

Certain things in life reveal who you truly are, and success is one of them. (Money and adversity are two others.) When you’re successful, others begin to expect more of you. People look to you as an example and wonder what you will produce next.

If you have built good habits of success into your life, this will be no problem. You have the emotional infrastructure to handle success, as well as the pressure and responsibility that come with it. But if your success has come quickly and you haven’t built good habits, you will resent the added pressure and responsibility.

Is your art all about you, or is it all about your audience? If you see your art as a way to serve your audience, you will embrace success as a way to provide greater service to more people. But if your art is all about you, you will be tempted to take shortcuts and only do things that are personally profitable.

ACTION STEP: Search your heart to make sure that you are creating art for the right reasons. It’s great to be profitable, but profit is only a means to the greater end of serving others, creating a better future for your loved ones, and adding value and beauty to the world.

Fear #4: My success will make me more vulnerable to critics.

This is a tough one for me. I hate conflict and don’t like to be at odds with anyone (although I can deal with it much better than when I was younger). When you put your art out there, it becomes a potential target for critics.

It’s true that success makes you more vulnerable to critics and haters. But success also makes it possible to reach more people and touch more lives. And the percentage of people who will actively dislike you is pretty small compared to those who will love you.

Remember that your critics are not always wrong. In fact, sometimes they make valid points that you need to take into consideration (even though they make say it in a mean way). Critics can make you bitter or better—the choice is yours.

ACTION STEP: Accept the fact that you will always have critics, and commit to using criticism to help you improve.

These four fears are real, and they can paralyze you if you let them. You can never eliminate fear, but you can take action in spite of it. Even better, you can use your fear as a stepping stone rather than seeing it as a stumbling block.

Which fear do you struggle with the most?