Jonah Complex: The Curious Fear Of Achieving Success
Psychologists are familiar with the concept of self realisation of Abraham Maslow a term that refers to the need of every human being to take advantage of their talents, their predispositions to learn fluidly in certain aspects of life, to achieve ambitious goals that allow us to give meaning to our existence and feel good about ourselves. .
We all know that we should eat, drink or sleep, but once these physiological needs are met, we aspire to other more abstract and complex needs, of a higher level according to the theory of Maslow’s Pyramid. These are what allow us, more than to avoid feeling bad because of health problems, to feel good about our own identity, with the person we have become. However, there are always exceptions, and although it may seem strange, there are those who are afraid of what they consider to be success. This phenomenon is known as the Jonah Complex ; Let’s see what it consists of.
Maslow was the father of humanistic psychology, a psychological movement that posits the existence of a basic human tendency (self-actualization) toward mental health and well-being. As we have seen, at the top of Maslow’s pyramid of needs are self-actualization needs: the psychological and spiritual needs that make us feel fulfilled.
In opposition to self-realization, I coin the term “Jonah complex ” to refer to the fear of one’s own greatness, the flight from our best talents. More poetically, it has been described as the avoidance of what we perceive to be our own destiny as high achievers.
When researching his concept of self-actualization, the humanistic psychologist posed the following question: If we are born with unlimited potential to self-develop, “Why doesn’t everyone achieve the goal of self-realization? “. One of the reasons that Maslow puts forward in his book The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, published in 1971, is the “Jonah Complex.” It is a form of self-sabotage that we can fall into without realizing it, and that keeps us tied to patterns of behavior that limit us.
Who is Jonah?
The Jonah Complex is inspired by the biblical figure of Jonah, a man who was a merchant and tried to resist God’s call to fulfill an important mission. His destiny was to become a prophet, however his first reaction was to flee, for fear of not being up to par.
Maslow’s explanation of the Jonah complex is that just as we fear the worst in ourselves, we also fear the best, we fear our greatest possibilities. We are afraid of becoming what we imagine, in our best moments, our ideal conditions. We enjoy and even delight in the divine possibilities that we discover in our peak moments, but in the same way, we are agitated by the fear or weakness of those same possibilities, perhaps because we do not want to leave the comfort zone
Although the causes of the Jonah Complex are very varied, the most common are the ones we will see here.
1. Fear of leaving the comfort zone by breaking the routine
Many times the fear of leaving the comfort zone It is what limits us to continue growing or what causes us anxiety. In fact, on many occasions we even prefer the bad rather than risk seeking our self-realization, our well-being. Staying anchored in the comfort zone, what is familiar and predictable to us, avoiding self-reflection to continue growing, can cause us to remain anchored to our fears without stepping firmly on the uncertainties.
We already commented in the article “Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection” that constantly living off our desires and unfulfilled desires, without betting on them, generates low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy, social withdrawal, little assertiveness, stress and anxiety constants, psychosomatic problems and poor emotional well-being.
2. Shyness
Developing our talents usually goes hand in hand with attracting the attention of others In this sense, many people fear this prospect because they show a tendency toward shyness, and they feel that the pressure of public scrutiny would overwhelm them emotionally.
3. Feeling of guilt
Some people are afraid of achieving success because they feel that it would make them feel bad for not deserving it. It occurs with those who have developed a complicated and conflictive relationship with their past and they feel the need to punish themselves
Unlock yourself so you can move towards success
Although reflecting on personal development might seem easy at first glance, there are many people who turn to health care professionals. coaching to be able to unlock. The coach, as a facilitator of personal development, gets the client to reflect through Socractic questions, allowing the client to continue growing as a person. The coach helps connect with desires and emotions, promoting self-realization and allowing you to reach the place where you want to be.
In summary, life drives us to follow the path towards self-realization Throughout our experiences, we encounter various difficulties that prevent us from looking clearly into the future, and that generate fears, insecurities and make us feel lost. Some wait and wait for everything to pass and fall into place by itself, Others pursue again and again what makes them feel alive, which makes them feel well-being. It is the best way to abandon pessimism or bad habits that prevent us from achieving the goals we set for ourselves.
