Jonah Complex: the curious fear of achieving success

Getting out of your comfort zone: if it's too hard for you, you may have the Jonah Complex.

The vast majority of psychologists will be familiar with the concept of self-actualization from Abraham Maslow's concept of self-actualization.. We all know that we must eat, drink or sleep, but once these physiological needs are fulfilled, we aspire to other needs at a higher level according to Maslow's Pyramid theory.

At the top of this pyramid are self-actualization needs: the psychological and spiritual needs that make us feel fulfilled. Maslow was the father of humanistic psychology, a psychological trend that postulates the existence of a basic human tendency (self-actualization) toward mental health and well-being.

The Jonah Complex

Maslow, however, in opposition to self-actualization, coined the term "Jonah Complex".Jonah ComplexThe term "self-realization" refers to the fear of one's own greatness, the avoidance of one's own destiny or the flight from one's best talents.

In researching his concept of self-realization, the humanistic psychologist asked himself the following question: "If we are born with unlimited potential for self-development, "why doesn't everyone achieve the goal of self-realization?". One of the reasons Maslow put forward in his book The Farther Reaches of Human Nature published in 1971, is the Jonah Complex.

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, but his first reaction was to flee, for fear of not being up to the task.

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 maximum 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 we discover in our peak moments, but equally, we become agitated by the fear or weakness of those same possibilities, perhaps because we do not want to leave our comfort zone. comfort zone.

Getting out of the comfort zone

Many times the fear of stepping out of the comfort zone is what limits us from continuing to grow 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, avoiding self-reflection to continue growing, can cause us to remain anchored to our fears without stepping firmly on uncertainties.

We already commented in the article "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection" that constantly living from our longings and unfulfilled desires, without betting on them, generates low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy, social withdrawal, poor assertiveness, constant stress and anxiety, psychosomatic problems and poor emotional well-being.

Unblocking oneself in order to move towards success

Although the reflection towards personal development might seem easy at first glance, many people turn to coaching professionals to help them achieve their goals. coaching professionals in order to unblock themselves. The coach, as a facilitator of personal development, gets the client to reflect through socratic questions, allowing the client to continue to grow as a person. The coach helps to connect with desires and emotions, favoring self-realization and allowing the client to get to the place where he/she wants to be.

To sum up, life encourages us to follow the path towards self-realization.. Throughout our experiences, we encounter various difficulties that prevent us from looking clearly towards the future, and that generate fears, insecurities and make us feel lost. Some people wait and wait for everything to pass and fit back together again, others chase again and again that which makes them feel alive, that which makes them feel the wellbeing of their lives.what makes them feel good. It is the best way to abandon pessimism or bad habits that make us not achieve the goals we set for ourselves.