5 Fears That Are Holding You Back In Your Career

By Perminus Wainaina

What’s holding you back from landing your dream job or advancing in your career? Are you afraid of failure? Of the stress of more responsibility? Of letting someone down?

Maria had been looking to change jobs for over 6 months. When she finally got a job offer, she wasn’t sure she wanted to take it. She would have more responsibilities, and she would need to travel more.

“I was afraid to suddenly make all these changes in my life. It was too much for me to take all at once, and I ended up not taking the job,” she says. 

To date, I look for other job opportunities, and I’m afraid to take a lot more responsibility. I’d rather stay with what I know and appear like I know it all, rather than starting afresh.

No doubt, it has impacted my career. I have stayed longer at this organization, and missed other job opportunities that would have most likely accelerated my career.”

Many times the reasons you give yourself for not going after that new job, not asking for the raise, or not sending in your CV seem legitimate at the moment but they all boil down to fears.

How then do you get past your fears and accelerate your career?

Here are the biggest roadblocks to achieving success in your career, and what you can do to combat them.

1. Fear of failure

Loice, not her real name, sent me an email. In part, it read, “I’m not depressed, but I have realized that I fail every time I try anything, or try to achieve something. I saw a finance job advertised on your website, but I am worried that I will fail during the interview process…”

Truth is, you only grow by trying and failing because what matters is not the failure but the lessons that you pick when you have tried and failed.

Your career will never take off as long as your fear holds you back. If you are not happy where you work and you want to change jobs, go for it.

If you are scared that your application and interview process could make you fail, get a FREE CV review here and consult an interview coach on tips you need.

If you are apprehensive about taking up that leadership position in your company because you are afraid of failing yourself, your team, and your boss, remember that you will feel worse for not trying. Regrets are worse than failure.

Over and above everything else, know this; you will fail a few times before you succeed. What matters is how well you pick yourself up and keep going.

2. Fear of the unknown

“I don’t know what lies out there for me so I’d rather not try.” Have you found yourself saying this?

During a career coaching session, I one time asked my client why she had stayed 8 years in a job she didn’t love.

She told me that her passion was always entrepreneurship. She wanted to run her own consultancy in HR but was afraid to start because she knew she had to quit her job, have an unsteady income and with the ongoing pandemic, she wasn’t sure how the business would be.

You may be afraid of what it would mean to quit your job, switch careers, or even go back to school. The best way to counteract this is to get out of your comfort zone. You will never know how things will go unless you try.

3. Fear of judgment

Applying for a job may seem like you are applying to be judged. Are you good enough, smart enough, creative enough, or even experienced enough for the job you want?

If you fear being judged, you will end up underestimating your own ability to tolerate negative approval. If you let this fear control you, you may end up shying away from opportunities that will help you advance your career.

Everyone will always have an opinion about you – whether good or bad. As opposed to losing sleep over what others might say or think, go ahead and do what you need to.

4. Fear of loss of freedom

When it comes to your career, you may find that you don’t want to take on additional responsibility or a promotion because you fear the loss of your freedom. That promotion might include new responsibilities, different working conditions, more hours, more pressure, more stress.

For example, if you are applying for a senior position or one that is very consuming in terms of time, location, and responsibilities. Don’t hesitate to jump at the opportunity because you are fearful of losing your freedom. There comes a time in your career when you have to make sacrifices to move forward.

5. Fear of change

We live in a rapidly changing world. As such, change, and the feeling it brings, may not be something you would like. 

Embarking on a new career will undoubtedly change your routine — for example, it might require more hours away from your family or a smaller pay — and that might hold you back from uploading your CV for the application.

Rather than letting this fear of change take over, find ways to embrace it. Think about other times in your life when significant changes occurred, and see that you were, in fact, okay when it was all over. Use this as inspiration as you anticipate and analyze what the biggest changes will be during this transition. The sooner you become aware of these changes, the better you can accept and prepare for them.

Remember,

Fear only exists in your mind. Therefore, practice the art of suppressing this negative emotion. 

Your dream career is only a short distance away, so consider how you can get there, prepare for big life changes and then advocate for yourself with confidence.