At some time in our careers, we self-sabotage. We know we need to do 'A' to move forward, but somehow we find ourselves doing 'B'. And 'B' isn't as good as 'A'. In fact, 'B' might make us take a number of steps backwards. But we do it anyway.

Why? Fear of Failure & Fear of Success.

Fear of Failure is simple - we don't want to attempt something if we feel that it's going to fail in the end — a sales call not attempted, a higher price asked, etc. We retreat to that safe, warm, and fuzzy place in our heads that takes us away from all possible failure scenarios. Unfortunately, you might be wrong — that call or price might be accepted and you suddenly move forward at a blinding speed with your career . . . and that's where fear of success steps in.

Fear of Success is even more insidious and calculating than fear of failure. It hides in the deep recesses of our psyche and when it comes out, we usually don't even notice it. Fear of Success sabotages our ability to make great leaps forward in our career by preying upon our irrational fears.

So how do we fix this?

Fear of Failure - Just do it. Most of the time, we are just putting up obstacles to procrastinate and hide of the pain of rejection. But the reality is that you usually have a better chance of acceptance is you just take action. Also - the rejection is not as bad as you think - so just do it.

Fear of Success - Get real. Most of the internal stories we tell ourselves are based upon fantasy. If we lose weight, we'll cheat on our spouse . . . if we get that big promotion, we'll never see our family again . . . and on and on and on. Sit down and list all the irrational ways you fear success, write them on paper. Then take each one and dissect it with a clear head and only use FACTS. You'll find that most of your fears are highly irrational and not based in the real world.

Now go out and face the world without fear!