Is this Fear of Success?

The Powerful Paragraph

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” - Marianne Williamson

I remember the first time my therapist asked me if I had a fear of success. I thought, “How absurd? Of course, not! I want to be successful.” And to prove it, I started working harder, writing more than I’ve ever written before. But the more I wrote, the more others expected me to write. The more I wrote, the more people would read it. And I started asking myself, “who am I to think I’m a good writer - that I’m worthy of being read?” I realized that I did, indeed, have a fear of success. Success is hard. It comes with responsibility and expectations and unyielding discipline. It’s scary. But then I think of the opposite - to stop writing. To abandon the one thing in this world that I love more than anything, and that’s even scarier. So, I have the choice between two equally intimidating options: carry the weight of success or free myself of the burden but never do what I truly love. For me, it’s the former, no matter how hard or how scary.