Four Fears That Keep You From Growth

When you think about growth in your role or business, what's your first reaction? Excitement? Pressure? Doubt? Curiosity?

When we think about growth, especially personal or professional growth, we often assume the biggest challenges are external. Time, resources, strategy, support... all of that plays a part.

But in reality, what gets in the way most often is internal. There are patterns I see come up again and again, especially with people who care deeply about the work they do.

When you're starting off, it's all about figuring out how to grow. Going from nothing to something. You're focused, you're moving forward. You're looking for movement, any movement. And you're not necessarily thinking beyond that.

But once that growth starts to arrive, or maybe even simply the idea of getting that growth, it can feel unsettling. Maybe because it's hard to think what might come beyond that growth. Before it was clear, now it's the unknown again.

Sometimes we're doing the work. We're close to 'getting there.' But instead of excitement... it feels like a void: unknown, scary. It's not failure we fear, it's the unknown. Success brings visibility, change, and responsibility. And often, our identity isn't ready to catch up.

4 Fears That Show Up When Growth Feels Complicated

Four patterns come up repeatedly when growth starts to feel complicated rather than exciting. These aren't just habits. They're often rooted in how we protect ourselves from uncertainty, change, and judgment.

Block 1: Fear of Failure

"What if I try and embarrass myself?"

Fear of failure carries extra weight when you've built your professional identity around reliability and competence. You're the one who thinks things through, who delivers quality work, and who others can depend on.

This strength becomes a trap when it stops you from taking risks that could elevate your visibility and impact. The thought of failing publicly feels particularly threatening because it contradicts the careful, thoughtful persona you've cultivated.

This fear whispers: "You've worked so hard to be seen as competent. What if you try something new and everyone realises you're not as capable as they thought?"

Take the new manager who avoids making decisions that could be questioned, preferring to "gather more information" indefinitely, even when they know what to do. It's not that they lack the knowledge or judgement - they're avoiding the possibility of being wrong in front of their team and having their competence questioned.

The irony is that your thoroughness and competence are exactly what would help you succeed in new challenges. But fear of embarrassment keeps you from testing that theory.

How it shows up:

• Avoiding opportunities that feel uncertain, even when you're qualified

• Over-researching and over-preparing to the point where opportunities pass you by

• Staying in roles where you feel safe rather than stretching into new responsibilities

• Declining to share ideas in meetings unless you're absolutely certain they're perfect

Block 2: Fear of Success

"What if I can't handle it or it changes everything?"

Fear of success might sound paradoxical, but it's remarkably common. You might want that promotion or recognition, but part of you worries about what comes with actually having it.

It's one thing to chase a role; it's another thing entirely to do it. It's one thing to sell a service; it's another to provide it. Success means you now have to sustain what you've achieved, and that can feel daunting.

What if you can't sustain that success? What if you end up not being able to deliver and not being worthy of that success? What if you had overestimated yourself all along? Because once you've got it, you've got to handle it.

Consider Sarah, a bright professional hoping for a promotion. On the surface, she's excited about the opportunity. But dig deeper, and you'll find anxieties lurking beneath: What if she can't live up to the new expectations? What if she's overestimated her abilities all along? What if everyone realises she can't actually deliver at this level?

Or take the manager who's been promoted to lead a larger team. Instead of embracing their leadership responsibilities - delegating, developing their team, working on strategy - they hang on to the operational side they know they can handle. It feels safer to stay busy with tasks they've mastered than to step into the uncertainty of true leadership, even though that's what the role actually requires.

How it shows up:

• Self-sabotaging just before big opportunities

• Downplaying your achievements or deflecting credit to others

• Feeling anxious about recognition rather than excited

• Worrying that you've somehow fooled people about your capabilities

The fear asks: "What if I can't sustain this? What if I'm not actually as capable as I thought? What if getting what I want proves I don't deserve it?"

Block 3: Perfectionism

"It has to be 100% ready before I share it"

Many capable people have high standards; it's part of what makes them reliable and respected. It's one of their greatest strengths. But taken to its extreme, it becomes a pitfall. Perfectionism takes this further, demanding that everything be flawless before it sees the light of day.

This block is particularly insidious because it feels virtuous. You tell yourself you're being thorough, professional, and committed to quality. In reality, perfectionism often prevents your good work from having the impact it deserves.

I had a client who confessed he had struggled to meet deadlines because he wanted everything to be perfect. He would work on the task straight away and finish it, but then would worry it wasn't good enough, or needed to check something else to make sure it was right, and ended up missing the deadline. Of course, what he had done was perfectly good enough, so he created a situation where he was seen as unreliable, even though he had done the work, but his perfectionism had prevented him from delivering it.

How it shows up:

• Endlessly refining presentations, proposals, or ideas instead of sharing them

• Waiting for the "perfect moment" to apply for roles or speak up in meetings

• Focusing on small details whilst missing bigger strategic opportunities

• Feeling paralysed by the gap between your vision and your current capabilities

Perfectionism whispers: "It's not quite ready yet. Just a bit more work and then it will be good enough to share." The problem is, "good enough" never arrives.

This pattern is especially challenging because your attention to detail is genuinely valuable. The key is learning when "very good" serves you better than "perfect", which is more often than perfectionism would have you believe.

Block 4: Procrastination

"I'll do it later... when it's clearer, less risky"

For some people, procrastination isn't usually about laziness; it's about protection. You delay taking action on important things because some part of you isn't ready to face the uncertainty that comes with growth.

This shows up as finding reasons to delay: you're tired, you're not inspired, you're busy with something else, this is tomorrow's priority, you're not in the mood. There's always a reason why now isn't the right time.

How it shows up:

• Putting off difficult conversations until they become urgent

• Waiting until the last minute for applications or opportunities

• Avoiding tasks that feel uncertain or emotionally challenging

• Taking any opportunity to delay - whether it's scrolling on your phone, suddenly remembering to do the ironing (even when you don't usually iron) or feeling inspired to clean the house. Anything seems more appealing.

A client once shared, "If you come unannounced and the house is clean, you can be sure there is a big fat project I'm avoiding at work!"

Procrastination says: "I'll do it when I'm more in the mood, when I'm less tired, when I have more time." But there's always another reason to put it off.

When You're Having Success But It Feels Unsettling

So you're having a little bit of success? You might be asking yourself, but was that luck? Or did I really deserve it? What if I fail to deliver? What if they think I'm not good?

What if I get all these opportunities and then I fail, isn't it worse than never having them? Will I be able to sustain the success? Or will that out me as a fraud?

You might have been so busy and focused on growing that you don't know how to handle that growth. It's a very common issue companies face when they start having success: the role of the leader starts to change, there is less doing, and more thinking, strategising. There is more freedom of choice, but then, now that you have something to lose, you're afraid to lose it.

It's common for those leaders to struggle with letting go. How they had been operating so far is what got them the success. It's hard to change. But when the company starts growing, leadership needs to evolve with it.

It might be safer to cling to the uncomfortable yet familiar territory of chasing the growth.

The void that sometimes appears just before or after a big step forward isn't a red flag; it's a threshold. It's a signal that we're entering a phase of transition, especially when we're about to do something meaningful.

Moving Forward: Understanding What's Underneath

We never think we fear growth. Recognising what is really going on is the first step. When you understand what's beneath the hesitation, whether it's fear of embarrassment, worry about handling success, the pursuit of impossible perfection, or finding any reason to delay, you can begin to make different choices.

You don't have to feel fearless to move forward. You just need to understand what's holding you back.

The four blocks - fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, and procrastination - aren't character flaws. They're signals. When you can name what's happening, when you can see the fear of embarrassment or the worry about sustaining success for what it really is, something shifts. Awareness creates space. And in that space, action becomes possible.

Ready to explore what's really holding you back? If these experiences feel familiar, know that you're not alone, and you don't have to navigate them alone. Book a conversation to explore how you can move from understanding to purposeful action, or take the Quiet Quiz for more insights on leading authentically whilst honouring your thoughtful nature.

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Cecile Hemery is a leadership and career coach, hypnotherapist, supervisor, trainer, and speaker who helps thoughtful professionals reclaim their confidence and impact, without pretending to be someone they’re not.

With 15 years’ experience in product and marketing in the Tech and Gaming industry, Cecile combines coaching, psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy, and mindfulness with a deep understanding of workplace dynamics in fast-paced, data-driven environments. She supports clients as they navigate the curveballs of career progression, leadership challenges, and life transitions - bringing clarity, confidence, and calm. Her approach blends practical structure, emotional insight, and gentle challenge - always delivered with empathy and the occasional dash of humour.

As a values-driven woman who has led teams and major projects, Cecile knows how disorienting it can feel to lose your footing, especially when you’re the one others rely on. She helps her clients find their centre again, so they can lead with integrity, connect meaningfully, and make a difference on their own terms.

Her mission is simple: to help human-centred leaders show up with authenticity and have impact in their careers, and in their lives.