Lack of money, resources, or intelligence isn’t what holds entrepreneurs back from success.
Limiting beliefs are.
As a Clinical Psychologist and Executive Coach, I’ve noticed every limiting belief people struggle with falls into one of four categories. Everyone I’ve worked with—from bootstrapped first-time solopreneurs to VC-funded experienced founders—struggles with at least one of them.
I call these limiting beliefs the Four Horsemen of Fear.
In the last book of the Bible, Revelations, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse spell doom for humanity.
In business, and in life, the Four Horsemen of Fear spell doom for you, me, and anyone who wants to build something that matters.
They wreak havoc on our psyches and keep us from realizing our potential by tricking us into unconsciously self-sabotaging.
Who are these heralds of our mental destruction?
Is there any hope to defeat them—to face our fear so we can do work that matters?
Let’s dive in…
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Who Are the Four Horsemen of Fear?
The Horsemen are the four most common limiting beliefs that hold us back from putting ourselves out there and doing meaningful work. Some are easy to spot, some are sneaky, but all are conniving and whisper lies in our ears.
The better you understand each, the easier you’ll spot them when they rear their heads.
The 1st Horseman: Fear of Failure
Everyone knows this one because it’s the easiest to identify.
It sows doubts like:
What if I’m not good enough?
What if I can’t make this work?
Fear of Failure keeps us from ever starting.
But its lesser-known brethren are equally debilitating.
The 2nd Horseman: Fear of Ridicule
If you’ve ever let what critics think, or what “they” (your friends, family, society) might say, stop you from putting yourself out there or doing meaningful work—the 2nd Horseman has reared its ugly head.
It whispers worries like:
What if people judge me for doing this?
What if they don’t like it?
Fear of Ridicule tricks us into staying small and never taking a chance.
The 3rd Horseman: Fear of Uncertainty
The 3rd Horseman tells us we don’t have enough information to move forward.
It whispers questions like:
Which decision is right?
Which direction should I choose?
So we constantly seek more. More info. More resources. More answers.
Fear of Uncertainty paralyzes us in a constant state of over-analysis.
The 4th Horseman: Fear of Success
This is the worst one because we deny its existence.
Fear of Success holds more people back than Fear of Failure ever will.
How could we be afraid of achieving the very thing we say we want?
Because most of us believe success is a binary state: before and after. If we’ve never achieved success, we only know the “before” version of ourselves. “Post-success” us feels alien. Since we’re more familiar with our current state, we unconsciously self-sabotage to stay in familiar territory—to live in a world we understand. Achieving success represents crossing a threshold we can’t see beyond. And that’s terrifying.
The 4th Horseman hides in thoughts like:
If I succeed, will I lose my ambition?
What if achieving success means I’ve peaked in life?
What if I can’t balance power with responsibility?
The Fourth Horseman tells us we’ll become a completely different person if we succeed, someone we won’t recognize. As this new person, we might become stagnant, corrupted by power, and ambitionless.
Fear of Success tricks us into abandoning worthwhile projects right when we’re on the precipice of victory, to quit the race as soon as we get close enough to see the finish line.
Every single limiting belief I’ve heard founders, creators, and entrepreneurs struggle with falls into one of the Horsemen’s domains.
So how do you combat them?
The first step is to recognize how the Horsemen disguise themselves in self-sabotaging behaviors:
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How the 4 Horsemen Disguise Themselves as Self-Sabotaging Behaviors
Self-sabotaging behaviors, no matter how destructive, serve a specific function—they help us avoid the thing we fear.
Here are the most common self-sabotaging behaviors:
Procrastination:
The busier you stay, the more productive you are, right?
Take on all the projects. Say yes to all the opportunities. Be a control freak and don’t outsource anything. Spend your time putting out every small fire that pops up. Spend hours getting to “inbox zero.” Have a hundred priorities, and never take responsibilities off your plate. Have a great new idea? Immediately chase it while leaving your current projects half-finished. Keep getting caught up in low ROI tasks instead of focusing on the Needle Movers.
If you never finish, you never risk Failure or Success.
Perfectionism and Imposter Syndrome:
You don’t have all the answers. Your product isn’t ready yet. You don’t have enough authority for people to trust you. Who are you to build this? You’re a nobody. You’re unqualified. Better to wait until you learn more or create a better offer. Your competition is so far ahead of you, you’ll probably never catch up. So what’s the point of even trying? You should wait until you feel ready, then you won’t have anything to be afraid of.
How long have you been “writing” your book or article, but still won’t publish it?
How long have you been thinking about, or actually building, that project but still haven’t shipped it?
How long have you thought out every possible scenario and created the “perfect” plan, but still haven’t taken the steps to go from idea to execution?
As long as you don’t put yourself out there, you avoid Ridicule.
Complacency:
Too many entrepreneurs create golden handcuffs (soul-sucking. but lucrative, businesses) and willingly choose to stay shackled than face the uncertainty freedom could bring.
Most people would rather choose the path that leads to predictable misery than the one that offers the chance of a better life.
Humans are creatures of habit. We gravitate toward what we can anticipate. Uncertainty is terrifying.
Staying in your comfort zone keeps you safe from Uncertainty.
Now you know each of the Four Horsemen of Fear, how they disguise themselves, and why we self-sabotage.
But how can you overcome them?
Read Next: Fear Inoculation: How to Become Immune to Self-Doubt
