Jonah Complex: THe Fear of Success
Everyone actually yearns for success. But little do we know that we are scared of it - we fear that we will never attain it in spite of what we strive to do; we fear actually that we will have no purpose after we already achieved this success we worked hard for. How will life be after success? This thought linger to us. Though we may not admit it; though we may fail to realize it.
It is only the other day that I came to understand this concept of Abraham Maslow, one of my favorite theorists of personality. But one thing, I am not a dedicated student of him - perhaps, his theory of self-actualization is one positive axiom about human nature amidst the negative and condescending assumptions of others - that the primary motive of a human being is to satisfy his or her sexual urges or his repressed emotions.
This is Jonah Complex. Perhaps if you are familiar with the Biblical story of Jonah who was called by God to travel to Nineveh but he actually escape from his supposed calling. Anyway, here is a useful educational discussion I was able to browse recently regarding the Jonah Complex. In summary, the Jonah Complex posits that people are afraid of their own destiny and fear that maximizing their potentials will lead to situations where they will be unable to cope. This is the primary reason why people do not self-actualize - to become
what they are capable of becoming.
According to Maslow, as cited by Sanjay Agrawal in http://success-nirvana.blogspot.com/2007/03/jonah-complex.html, the Jonah complex is characterized by:
* There is an evasion of growth, and evasion of the state where one’s talents may be truly fulfilled;
* There is fear of one’s greatness. A sense that one’s greatness may be inherently dangerous to one’s life pervades the mind.
* There is fear that recognition of one’s own greatness, talent and potential will lead to some responsibility that may be overwhelming.
* There is this fear that after achieving greatness, life would become “extraordinary”. This extraordinariness may be “out of sync” with the rest of the society that one moves in, and may lead to ostracism.
* There is this fear that the process may be too powerful, too intense, and lead to much insecurity of mind (as in looking directly into the sun).
* There is this feeling of losing control “over the steering wheel”, some sort of annihilation, or some disintegration.
* Achieving one’s true potential is taken to be akin to committing hubris – a “sinful pride”; this leads to paranoia.
These thoughts at the core level of one’s existence gel and reach the surface in the form of inertia. Human beings go about leading their lives in mediocrity, never ever reaching their true station in life.
It is not that easy. We may have this impulse or even a need to improve ourselves but accordingly, we have a rooted tendecy to wallow and fear away from our destiny. True enough, as Agrawal ends it, that is not failure we fear, rather, success itself - "What if I succeed"?…
