There is a strange energy that emerges when you start making progress in your business and the smell of success begins to waft by.
People who you used to be close to you start to drift away. And new people make an entry.
It’s just the way it is.
If you are unprepared for this, you run the risk of becoming worried, sacred and doubting of yourself.
But take note! What is actually going on is something quite interesting.
The thing is, when you start becoming successful, people close to you begin to feel uncomfortable. Your success shifts the balance in the relationship.
Now some would consider this jealousy. But in reality what is going is simply that they are experiencing pain. Maybe it’s about highlighting themselves to themselves. But pain emerges.
And there are one of two things that could happen:
- they may try and make you believe that what you are doing is pie in the sky and not really a win;
Or
- they may withdraw from you, largely in an attempt to get you worried and unsettled.
Either way, it is an attempt to restore the equilibrium in the relationship, not by them stepping up to where you are, but rather by dragging you back to where they felt comfortable.
Hence the term ‘the success drag’.
Beware.
If you are prepared for this it is easier to handle.
Instead of being boastful, you might play it down a bit and show a little compassion. As mentioned above, it is more about them avoiding their pain than it is about maliciously bursting your bubble.
The big reward is that you begin to grow into a bigger space with different people doing more expansive and exciting things.
Me wonders if a number of marriages fall apart for this very reason – because one partner is unable to withstand the success of the other. Enter the success drag. Improperly managed, the relationship begins to strain and eventually collapses.
So, Entrepreneur, watch out for the success drag – the way you manage this will determine whether your important relationships survive.