It is ironic that many people who run their own businesses, including owners of a spa or a massage practice, have as much fear of success as they do of failure. Fear of failure is understandable. It’s daunting to start your own venture, whatever it is. No matter how much you love the adventure of charting your own course, it’s natural to worry about failing along the way due to your own missteps or circumstances outside your control.
However, fear of success is less easy to understand, but that doesn’t make it less unlikely. With success comes responsibility and greater expectations that you impose on yourself or others do. Once you gain success, there’s also a fear of losing it.
While fear of success is not uncommon, don’t let it hold you back from pursuing your dream of having an enduring, highly respected business. Don’t let the fear of success paralyze you from making decisions necessary to move your spa or massage practice along, whether they are about expanding services, partnering with others, opening a new location, or whatever else it takes to be successful.
In “Why Some Entrepreneurs Undermine Their Own Success,” which ran on the Forbes website a few years ago, contributing writer Martin Zwilling points to some rationales that discourage business owners from achieving success. Among them:
Success will Lead to Envy
Zwilling explains that the more successful a person is, the more envious are that person’s friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Some entrepreneurs don’t want to deal with this and, as a result, undermine their own success.
I’m not Good Enough for Success
For whatever reason, some people don’t believe they should be successful. Maybe they don’t think they are talented enough or smart enough. When you have that belief, Zwilling says, you sabotage your efforts to be successful.
Success will Change my Lifestyle
Some entrepreneurs are concerned that success will change their life – make it less enjoyable. They are concerned they will have less time to be with family or friends or pursue whatever activities they enjoy.
I Won’t be able to Control Everything that Happens
That pretty much goes with the territory of having your own successful business. Things happen that are out of your control. But it’s your strength in getting your business off the ground and vision to keep in on a track that will ensure you can weather any situation. The key is to not worry about what might happen.
If these kinds of thoughts are getting in the way of achieving success, it’s time to do something about them. Seek out others to talk to – friends, family members, or even a professional – who can help you face these concerns and learn how to overcome them. Sometimes, just acknowledging them and talking them through can help.
Stress may be getting you down, and so success may seem like a burden... Make sure you take good care of yourself, physically as well as mentally. Exercise, get enough sleep, and eat right – all the things you tell your clients.
You also might want to join other organizations of professionals. You can learn from other business owners about their road to success and what concerns or doubts they had along the way about how success would change their lives.
Achieving and dealing with success isn’t easy. But that shouldn’t stop you from pursuing it.
Does the idea of becoming successful ever cause you some worry?