The fear of success may have a cause — for some — that has nothing to do with the commonly accepted reason — poor self esteem.

I’ve seen it time after time — someone determined to reach a goal starts acting out of character as soon as it becomes apparent they may actually achieve it.

It’s been called the fear of success.

I remember first experiencing this phenomenon when I was in my early twenties.  I was in a band that had a real chance.  An investor appeared who started talking about taking steps to get serious.  

Then the craziest thing started to happen.

The leader of the band — the guy who’s music we were playing –  began to self-destruct!  Started saying and doing things that would make any investor pull back.  Well,  that’s what happened.

Once the investor left the scene the band leader’s demeanor changed.

He went back to being the serious leader and composer we all respected — but his unexpected actions left a chill on the band members  that eventually drained the enthusiasm and trust we had in our future together.  

One day the band was no-more.

Years later I came to understand that many people self-destruct when the brass ring they’ve been chasing comes into sight.  The fear of success may be the result of the “adventure” finally coming to an end because the goal is about to be achieved.

When people become so fixated on achieving a goal — that it becomes the sole purpose of their life  — actually achieving  the goal  may  threaten  their life purpose!   

So the fear of losing one’s life purpose may be one of the reasons for self-defeating behavior usually associated with the fear of success.

By the way, the band leader I mentioned had a musical career with several bands that almost made it…

-Bob Baran