Success sounds like a dream for some people. They fantasize about it every day and night, and find themselves constantly working in order to achieve it. I like to call those kind people the ‘strong ones,’ because for me, the idea of success is like a roller coaster, and as much as I want to achieve it, sometimes I shut myself down because I can’t see myself moving to the next step.

Maybe you’ve been in this situation without even noticing. You slowly start acting different, and instead of walking towards your goals or your idea of success, you go backwards, feeling powerless and ashamed of who you are and what you’ve done.

For other people, it’s hard to understand, and they think that you are too hard on yourself. They don’t know how you feel, and it seems like they will never understand the things you do because you’re scared:

1. You are too hard on yourself and your work.

When you are afraid of success, you start to believe that you are not good enough, and you start being extra hard on yourself. You don’t like the piece you wrote, the video you made or the photos you took because in your eyes, they look cheap, tacky and poorly made, even though the rest of the world loves them. You hear your friends saying “It was awesome,” or “You are doing great,” but deep inside, you feel that something is not right.

2. You skip opportunities on purpose.

Sometimes you have in front of you the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, however, the fear of success makes you believe that you are not capable of taking it. It makes you believe that you are going to fail or that if everything works out, you won’t be able to handle properly the success and excitement achieved. Because of that, you ignore the person, the business, the brand or the scholarship that is knocking your door, waiting to be used.

3. You are afraid of networking.

When you weren’t afraid, you used to talk with everyone, always with your bubbly personality lighting up every room, but now, you avoid contact with other people, even though you know they have the tools to make you grow and to take you to the next step. You are afraid of sending e-mails, connecting with someone you admire through LinkedIn or even something as simple as saying “hi,” because in your mind, all you can think about is What is going to happen next?

4. You shut yourself down.

Your fears have transformed you, turning you into someone who is far away from who you used to be. You stopped doing what you love because you were afraid of what was going to happen next, and the active person that you used to be is now someone who craves a bed, an empty room, and loneliness.

You don’t believe in yourself anymore and you tend to victimize yourself on every situation. You must realize, however, that you are the only one who is holding yourself back.