Dentists’ FEAR of SUCCESS

Fear of Success is evidenced in all human behavior.  It is insidious, unconscious and evidences itself in how the vast majority of us SELF-SABOTAGE almost every good thing we attempt to do.  A book that is by my bedside, (to remind me of how procrastination is a form of SELF-SABOTAGE)  The War of Art, is so important that we all have to be reminded every day how our own ‘self talk’ prevents us from accomplishing what is most important to us.

 “It’s to our own self benefit that we become the best human beings we can become.”

Just think of the excuses we dentists can trump up in our minds for:

• Not working out
• Not eating the right foods
• Not taking that drink of alcohol
• Not smoking that cigarette
• Not saving money

This is simply amazing. The major reason that so many of us have problems overcoming the Fear of Success is that we don’t believe we deserve SUCCESS.  Ask yourself:

• Why do we start something good and then don’t finish it?
• Why do we start a weight loss program and gain the weight again? 
• Why do we save money and then lose it?
• Why do so many really high income actors invest their money and lose it?
• Why do great athletes or star performers have a great run of success and then end up in alcohol or drug rehab?
• Why do so many politicians, seemingly on top of the world from a power, prestige and character standpoint, end up caught cheating on their wives?
• Why do so many people do great in business only to end up in failure.  (Read the Introduction to The Science of Creating Wealth™)

Right in front of your eyes you see dentists SABOTAGING themselves in every arena of life.  Why?  The reason WHY is primarily because: “You don’t think you deserve it.”

Fear of Success is in the Unconscious Mind. To conquer the Fear of Success, you must be aware that it exists.

• To lick it I must be aware of my ‘self-talk’.
• Background – Family of origin and what was said to you when you were growing up
• Any past failures are imbedded in our subconscious mind and often block us from creating the success we want in any arena. 
• We also rate ourselves in various arenas in our lives.  These ratings are mostly unconscious and often limit the perception of our success.
• In other words, no matter what we accomplish or achieve, it is never enough.  If I don’t think I’m successful, then I’m not.

Fear of Success is just as paralyzing as Fear of Failure.  Many dentists fear SUCCESS because it tests their current limits and makes them vulnerable to new situations.  Even worse, trying something new exposes weaknesses and forces us to deal with our inadequacies. Success at anything always involves changing something, usually the way we think. Often Success involves new responsibilities and new challenges that threaten our safety.

If you think Fear of Success isn’t important, then ask yourself why you continue to procrastinate in:

• Starting a long overdue program of business improvement for your practice
• Starting an exercise program of working out an hour every day
• Initiating a savings and investment program that ensures you won’t lose money
• Taking a long overdue Sales Course for the dental practice
• Focusing on how you can be more productive both personally and professionally as a dentist

Fear of Failure and Fear of Success are two of the most dominate unconscious forces in all of our lives. No one is exempt. More important than all little tricks to work on your mind is this single thought…

No matter how successful you or I become at anything, if we don’t believe in our hearts and souls that we deserve it:

1) We’ll never start whatever we need to start.

2) We’ll get half way through it and quit.

3) We’ll achieve SUCCESS and reverse it.

Amazing isn’t it? Just how much in believing We Deserve It! impacts our entire life. Whether we START, or START AND QUIT or START, GET IT and REVERSE our SUCCESS is all dependent on whether we think we DESERVE IT OR NOT!