Read This If You Worry Your Success Has Come Too Quickly

Your success has hit you out of the blue; suddenly, without warning. Each step forward feels like a leap over a canyon; a dizzying, blinding, ill-fated race into the unknown. You feel poorly equipped to cope with its sudden demands; your time, your effort, your risk.

You worry that everything you’ve worked for could disappear in an instant; that at any moment, your luck could run out and leave you stranded, awash in your own failure. You vehemently believe that in the pursuit on which you’ve diligently worked, your eventual demise is imminent, so you drown yourself in excuses.

I’m not talented enough to succeed long-term.

Why is everyone more capable than I am?

I shouldn’t even try.

Your success seems like too much, even as it overwhelms you with joy. It suffocates you, smothering your sense of self as you fear that you need to somehow maintain your successful streak. You believe that this is no time for failure, no time for mistakes, no time to slow down because you fear that if you pace yourself, others will see you as less capable.

If your success feels as though it’s spiraling over you, consuming your life, robbing you of the ability to eat, sleep, breathe, live, slow down. Take on only what you can handle; discard the remainder of the stress that’s enveloping your mind. The mere thought of turning down potential opportunities may shatter your heart, but knowing your limits doesn’t make you any less successful; it makes you human.

Understand that in the pursuit of success, there is no race; no competition, no one to keep up with. Don’t strive to achieve more than you did yesterday; instead, know that true success is defined by your ability to balance out your life, to practice self-care, to learn to say “no,” to absolve your life of what’s not meant for you. Your sudden jolt of success may rock you to your core, pressuring you to constantly do more and be more, but remember that wherever your path leads next, you are always enough.

Know that your abrupt onslaught of success is no accident. Talent, hard work, dedication, and resilience has led you to your most laudable achievements; not the ever-changing whims of the universe. Your success demonstrates that you are just as exceptional as your colleagues, not that you are any luckier than them, that they deserve praise, recognition, and accolades more, or that your star will fall as quickly as it’s risen, only for a more fortunate talent to replace you.

You are talented beyond belief, deserving beyond measure, unequivocally equipped to gracefully handle your success. Focus not on when your dreams will shatter, your worries that you will fail, and your fear that your success is transient; relish the small markers of success you reach each day. Your success may have been sudden, dizzying, and overwhelming, but once you believe you deserve the opportunities you’ve received, that your success will not slip away from you, you will discover that you are capable of more than you could have ever imagined.