Polianiac

The concept “Fear of Success” usually finds application within Industrial and/or Counseling psychology settings. Personally, I find this moment an excellent opportunity to examine the concept from a Social Psychology perspective, within the context of Election 2008. Life Coach Ti Caine (2002) has said, “The fear of success is very real because the future is real-we’re all heading there-and what we imagine for our future has an enormous influence on us.” No statement could be more obvious when considering tomorrow’s election.

How this concept relates directly to the presidential election is interesting; especially when one considers the basic components that play into the FOS condition, “The fear of success is a very unique issue that arises when you are genuinely creating change and moving forward in your life,” Caine continues.  No matter what happens tomorrow, change  is inevitable for us all. No matter what happens tomorrow, the life of this nation  is “genuinely moving forward”; and tomorrow, that forward movement becomes manifest.

“Our culture is focused on fixing the past. It’s as if we are driving though life staring in the rear-view mirror,” Caine states.  I completely agree; and further to that point, the propensity in Western Culture to view all things as dialectics can be maddening. Our natural inclination is to think in terms of “either-or”. Either we choose to change paths; or we stay as we are. The preceding dialectic might seem logical and sound. However, it is neither. Change is the one constant we constantly resist, and time is always moving forward.

Tomorrow we all vote for change. Please be sure to recognize this indisputable fact. From where I sit, the choice that is before us relies heavily on our personal line of sight. Do we cling to the vision we see in the rear-view mirror and fight with all our might, against every natural law, to hold fast to a receding horizon? Or, do we view tomorrow’s choice as a new frontier, complete with a limitless horizon for new possibilities; where lessons from the past can truly be of use?  “History starts now“…