High Achievers and the Fear of Success

Have you ever reached a great height and then balked at the realization of how high you actually were? I certainly have. This phobia elicits the same reactions as a lesser-known phenomenon: the fear of success. When discussing the topic with people, one Wilkes Honors College student said, "You mean it's actually common to fear the results of what I do and achieve?"

Yes, many students are unaware that their feelings are commonly shared with countless others, and it can feel so isolating when it goes unacknowledged. Fear of success is not the fear of actually succeeding, but of what comes after the success. This fear could be about the new responsibilities you would have to take on, loss of valuable friendships, the inability to replicate your success, or other, similar circumstances. It is not to be confused with the fear of failure, which is the fear of being unable to meet specific goals and expectations, whether from yourself or others. This fear is one of the characteristics that define the imposter phenomenon, or imposter syndrome, which is the internal doubts about personal skills and intellect that often lead to self-deprecating behaviors that limit the ability to accomplish goals to the standards that one is capable of. While the focus is not on the imposter phenomenon, realizing that the fear of success can slowly turn into imposter syndrome, especially when high-achieving students are grouped into an academically rigorous environment, is essential, because they are not only competing in the classroom, but also fighting to maintain friendships, relationships, and extracurriculars. 

If you've ever wondered how that friend you share a class with will react to a high grade you received on an assignment if they didn't do particularly well on it, and you feared a negative response from them or thought it would cause discord in your friendship, then you have experienced the fear of success. Sound familiar? It certainly does for me, especially at the Honors College.

Countless students go through the process of developing a fear of success. For me, it started with getting straight A's throughout high school, being on the honor roll, and working hard for four years to get into all my dream schools. I was promoted at jobs, internships, and volunteer positions and scored high on all my tests, which finally paid off when I was accepted to the Wilkes Honors College. Now, I struggle to fight the guilt and fear of success around all my peers, and I've talked to many other students at the Honors College who have had the same. 

In high school, it's easy to succeed when you are doing so well, but, when thrust into such a rigorous academic environment full of competition and high standards, it's challenging to keep up those successes without fear creeping in. People naturally crave to fit in with the general population, wherever they may be. Where fear of success comes into play is the idea that achieving higher than the general population, even when others around you are considered to be on the same level as you, will end up being ostracized from your environment.

While they sound like the opposite of each other, there is a positive correlation between low self-efficacy and the fear of success. Self-efficacy is a sense of self that allows one to believe they can start and finish goals and tasks effectively. This is different from self-esteem, which is a measurement of self-worth. Someone with low self-efficacy is unlikely to believe they are competent enough to complete whatever needs to be done.

A student may be confident that they can accomplish things at the beginning but may start doubting if they can continue with the tasks that will come after. That displays low self-efficacy, and if that same student decides to self-handicap by procrastinating or simply giving up on the original task so they don’t have to deal with what comes after, they are allowing their fear of success to get in the way.

This doesn't have to be the end of the story. The first step to overcoming the fear of success is simply recognizing the signs in yourself. It takes time and mindset adjustment, but embracing your uniqueness and achievements and being proud of your accomplishments is okay.

Humility and modesty can still be maintained while celebrating. Embrace the heights, remembering that you are safely supported by restraints so you don’t need to fear falling, and achieve your greatness, whatever that may be.

 

Works Cited

1 Fimiani, R., Mannocchi, C., Gorman, B.S. et al. Guilt over success, impostor

phenomenon, and self-sabotaging behaviors. Curr Psychol 43, 19081–19090 (2024).

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05697-z

2 Kendra Cherry, Mse. (2023, January 20). What is the fear of success?. Verywell Mind.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-fear-of-success-5179184

3 Myers, D. G. (2022). Social psychology (14th ed.). McGraw Hill.