Success anxiety

A) Why you're terrified of getting what you want

B) Success anxiety nobody talks about

You've been working toward this for so long. The goal. The dream. The thing you said you wanted more than anything.

And now that it's actually within reach, something in you is pulling back. Hard.

Your chest tightens when you think about it actually happening. You find reasons to delay. To wait just a little longer. To make sure everything's perfect before you take the next step.

You tell yourself you're being smart. Strategic. Making sure you're really ready this time.

But underneath all that careful planning lives something else entirely. Fear. Not of failing. Of succeeding.

This doesn't make sense to anyone on the outside. They see someone sabotaging their own success right before the finish line. They wonder why you'd work so hard just to pull back when victory's in sight.

But you know exactly why. Because success means visibility. Accountability. Living up to what you said you could do. And maybe, just maybe, discovering you're not actually good enough once you get there.

Wanting something from a distance felt safe. You could dream without risk. Plan without pressure. Imagine the life you'd have without actually having to live it.

But now? Now you'd have to show up. Fully. As the person who got what they wanted. And that person feels terrifying to become.

Your body knows what your mind won't admit. Success comes with consequences you haven't prepared for.

People will expect things from you. They'll watch closer. Judge harder. Wait for you to mess up or prove you didn't deserve it in the first place.

You'll have to maintain what you've built. Keep showing up. Keep being the person capable of this level of achievement. And what if you can't? What if this was a fluke and everyone finds out you're not actually that person at all?

So you sabotage. Miss deadlines. Forget important details. Create chaos right when things should be coming together. Not because you're careless, but because your nervous system is trying to protect you from the exposure success demands.

Better to stay small and safe than risk being seen and found lacking.

You learned somewhere that being seen meant being hurt. That standing out made you a target. That success invited scrutiny you weren't equipped to handle.

Maybe the parent who achieved things became unbearable to live with. Maybe you watched someone close to you get what they wanted only to lose everything else that mattered. Maybe you were punished for outshining others, so you learned to dim yourself to stay safe.

Now your body remembers those lessons. Even when your mind wants to move forward, your nervous system pulls the emergency brake. Because to the part of you that's been keeping score, success still equals danger.

You can keep yourself small. Keep sabotaging right before breakthrough. Keep telling yourself you're not ready yet, need more time, should wait for better circumstances.

Or you can recognize this pattern for what it actually is. Not wisdom. Not caution. Fear dressed up as preparation.

Your body needs to learn that success won't destroy you. That being seen doesn't mean being abandoned. That having what you want is safe, even when every cell in you is screaming otherwise.

This starts small. With mornings where you prove to yourself that showing up doesn't require perfection. Where you practice being present with your goals instead of running from them. Where you teach your nervous system that moving forward, even incrementally, won't end in catastrophe.