Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Jonah Complex


Talking business with a friend today, he shared with me the frustration he feels when someone who has the talent, the charisma and vision to succeed disappears when the opportunity knocks at the door.
For my friend it just doesn’t make any sense. Of course it must be insecurity, he said, but why run away from the opportunity of a lifetime if this is your dream?

He spelled the magic word: Fear. It’s bloody fear.

Of course it usually is fear. But it’s not necessarily the fear of failure that is holding us back. Equally important is the fear of success, the Jonah Complex.
The Jonah Complex is the fear of success, which prevents self-actualization, or the realization of one's potential. It is the fear of one's own greatness, the evasion of one's destiny, or the avoidance of exercising one's talents.

In A Return to Love, Marrianne Williamson sums this up beautifully:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”
 
Take the quiz to find out how you feel about success.  

Paul Graubard, Jonah's Hungry

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