Maybe you're just afraid of success

Are you really afraid of failure?

Five minutes before the end of my therapy session, after bouncing between topics, I jokingly tell my therapist:

"I don’t know why I keep procrastinating. I watch all the productivity videos on YouTube."

She laughs. Then, she says something that stops me in my tracks:

"Maybe you’re just afraid of success."

Wait. What? How could I be afraid of something I want?

Failure feels safer

We usually fear failure because it’s painful. It makes us feel incompetent, judged, or stuck. It’s why we hesitate to take risks—because failing in front of others hurts.

But here’s the real mind-bender: doing nothing is the surest way to fail.

Staying in your comfort zone, repeating the same patterns, and avoiding anything new? That’s failure in disguise.

Failure = Familiarity

And familiarity, while comforting, keeps us exactly where we are.

The hidden fear of success

If failure is scary, success should feel exciting, right?

Not exactly. 

Success demands change. It requires stepping into the unknown, leaving behind what’s familiar, and embracing discomfort. 

It often asks us to let go of things that no longer serve us—old habits, limiting beliefs, or even relationships that don’t align with where we’re headed.

Success = Discomfort

It’s not just about achieving something—it’s about becoming the kind of person who can handle it.

That’s why, deep down, success can feel just as scary as failure—maybe even scarier.

So, what’s scarier?

A failure you already know and can predict? Or the discomfort that success will bring?

We tell ourselves we fear failure, but maybe what we really fear is what success will demand from us. The effort. The uncertainty. The responsibility.

Embrace Discomfort

Discomfort is the price of growth. If you want to achieve something new, you have to become someone new in the process.

So next time you catch yourself procrastinating, ask yourself:

Are you really afraid of failure?

Or are you afraid of what success might require of you?