Jonah complex
The Jonah Complex is the: fear of success; fear of change; fear of personal growth, fear of reaching one's potential; fear of achieving one's aspirations and dreams; and fear of meeting one's social and God-given responsibilities (golden rule, etc.).[1][2][3]
The Jonah Complex may interfere with an individual's achievement orientation and hinder a person's ability ability to achieve organizational/societal aims and goals.[4]
Etymology of the term
Abraham Maslow, who is credited with originating the concept of the Jonah Complex, stated: "So often we run away from the responsibilities dictated (or rather suggested) by nature, by fate, even sometimes by accident, just as Jonah triedâin vainâto run away from his fate".[7]
Symptoms of the Jonah Complex
Symptoms of the Jonah Complex include:[8]
- Low goals
- Procrastination
- Missing of opportunities
- Perfectionism.
- Quitting. Just when youâre on the verge of success, you find a reason to quit.
- Self-destructiveness/self-sabotage
External links
- Explaining the Fear of Success, Healthline.com
- What Is the Fear of Success? by Kendra Cherry, MSEd
- Is it Fear of Failure or Fear of Success?, PsychCentral
References
- â Abraham Maslow (October 1993). "The Jonah Complex". The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. ISBN 9780140194708.
- â Department of Cognitive Science, Chris VerWys. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Personality Psychology, Abraham Maslow
- â Desacralizing Life and its Mystery: The Jonah Complex Revisited by Pierre-E. Lacocque. Journal of Psychology and Theology, Volume 10, Issue 2, https://doi.org/10.1177/009164718201000202
- â Abraham Maslow (October 1993). "The Jonah Complex". The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. ISBN 9780140194708.
- â Feist, Gregory; Feist, Jess (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed.). New York McGraw-Hill Higher Education. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-07-338270-8.
- â Desacralizing Life and its Mystery: The Jonah Complex Revisited by Pierre-E. Lacocque. Journal of Psychology and Theology, Volume 10, Issue 2, https://doi.org/10.1177/009164718201000202 (See: JSTOR copy of the journal article)
- â Abraham Maslow (October 1993). "The Jonah Complex". The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. ISBN 9780140194708.
- â Explaining the Fear of Success, Healthline.com