TL;DR: 7 Beliefs Holding You Back from Embracing Success
Many entrepreneurs and professionals struggle to embrace success that comes easily due to limiting beliefs. These unconscious mental blocks can lead to unnecessary self-doubt and overexertion, preventing you from fully enjoying and thriving in your achievements.
• Struggle ≠ Worthiness: Success doesn’t require suffering; ease is often a sign of preparation and skill.
• Abundance, Not Scarcity: Success and good fortune are limitless, and are not “used up.”
• Impostor Syndrome: Ease doesn’t invalidate your accomplishments; it reflects preparation, not lack of merit.
• Help Isn’t Weakness: Collaboration accelerates growth, great leaders lean on support systems.
• Ease Isn’t Instability: Achievements that come with ease are a result of effectiveness, not flimsy effort.
• Sacrifice Isn’t Mandatory: Guilt-driven hustle after success drains energy unnecessarily.
• Comfort Fuels Growth: Rest and comfort allow you to recharge for future challenges.
To overcome these beliefs, challenge your assumptions, embrace an abundance mindset, celebrate your wins, and lean into support systems. Success can be painless and sustainable. Reflect, adapt, and give yourself permission to grow without undue struggle. Embrace your worth, your hard work makes ease possible.
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Have you ever felt a twinge of discomfort when you achieve success without having to struggle? That sinking feeling, like something must be wrong or that you haven’t truly earned what came easily, is more common than you’d think. As a serial entrepreneur, I, Violetta Bonenkamp, have encountered this emotion in nearly every founder I’ve ever mentored, and at times, even in myself. It’s a mental roadblock, tied deeply to what we believe we deserve, and it silently shapes the way we approach our professional and personal lives.
Why do some of us struggle to embrace success that feels “too easy”? If you’re someone who pushes away blessings or overcompensates when things happen without a fight, your underlying beliefs may be sabotaging you. Over the years, I’ve identified seven specific beliefs that keep us trapped in a cycle of self-doubt and overexertion, preventing us from embracing the abundance we work so hard to achieve. Let’s explore these beliefs and take a closer look at how they might be holding you back, and, most importantly, how to break free.
What Are These Seven Beliefs Holding You Back?
Success might just be on the other side of shedding these counterproductive beliefs. Here’s what to look out for and how to challenge them effectively.
1. You think suffering equals worthiness
Our culture loves the narrative of struggle: late nights, sacrifices, and hard-fought battles. You’ve probably heard sayings like, “No pain, no gain,” or, “Anything worth having is worth struggling for.” This belief ingrains the notion that unless you suffer, you haven’t earned your success. But here’s the reality: struggling doesn’t necessarily add value to your achievements. Worthiness isn’t a bank account where you deposit suffering points to withdraw rewards. The next time something comes easily, ask yourself, “Why not embrace this as the result of my preparation rather than rejecting it?”
2. You believe good luck is a limited resource
This mindset traps you in fear. If you think there’s only so much good luck to go around, you’ll find yourself waiting for disaster whenever something goes right. Maybe you’ve heard this voice: “These successes are too good to be true. I’m due for a failure anytime now.” Truth is, life isn’t a balance sheet of fortune and misfortune. The key is to challenge this mental scarcity and adopt a mindset of abundance. Success begets more success, there’s enough for everyone.
3. You feel like an impostor
Impostor syndrome has many faces, but at its core, it’s the feeling that you don’t deserve to be where you are. This often stems from comparing your insides to someone else’s outsides. You see their triumphs but not their struggles, so you internalize the idea that you must be different, less innate talent, less effort, less worthiness. Recognize that ease doesn’t come from being undeserving; it often comes from preparation, privilege, or simply hitting the right opportunity at the right time.
4. You think accepting help makes you weak
The lone-wolf narrative in entrepreneurship paints asking for help as weakness. But think about it: the most successful leaders, from Steve Jobs to Sara Blakely, didn’t shun mentorship, partnerships, or collaboration. Accepting help isn’t about weakness; it’s about leveraging resources to grow stronger. Break free from this belief by accepting that everybody needs a team to climb their personal Mount Everest.
5. You fear ease means instability
“Easy come, easy go” is a phrase people use liberally, implying that things earned without struggle will inevitably disappear. But this is just an illusion. Many of our achievements, though they may appear effortless in hindsight, are actually the result of accumulated skills, systems, or even luck aligning perfectly. Ease doesn’t mean instability, it means effectiveness. Let yourself own your wins without paranoia.
6. You think success requires an upfront sacrifice
If you often feel compelled to work harder or give up other areas of life after a big win, you’re likely buying into the belief that success isn’t sustainable without overcompensation. But consider this: how much energy are you draining for absolutely no reason? Instead of dwelling in guilt-driven hard work, try balancing success with strategic delegation. Use your newfound wins to streamline, not overextend, your efforts.
7. You think being comfortable will make you lazy
This belief stems from a culture of hustle. If you’re comfortable, the idea is that you’ll stop growing or moving forward. But here’s the secret every successful founder knows: comfort enables you to rest, recover, and take on bigger challenges. Instead of running yourself into the ground, lean into moments of ease to fuel yourself for future milestones.
How Can You Overcome These Beliefs?
- Challenge your assumptions: Journal or reflect on whether your beliefs are actually helping you or holding you back.
- Adopt an abundance mindset: Surround yourself with stories of people who succeeded without excessive hardship.
- Experiment: Accept successes as they come and resist the urge to overcompensate.
- Seek therapy or coaching: Professional help can identify and reshape self-limiting beliefs.
- Redirect focus: Use your newfound ease to dive into passion projects, personal growth, or community-building efforts.
Conclusion: Embracing What You Deserve
These beliefs don’t just limit your happiness, they limit your potential. Success doesn’t have to be painful to be valid. By identifying and shedding these mindsets, you’ll not only embrace your victories but also create space for even bigger achievements. Remember: sometimes, good things come easily because you’ve worked hard enough to make them look that way.
FAQ on Overcoming Beliefs That Limit Your Ability to Embrace Success
What does it mean to struggle with embracing success that comes easily?
Struggling with embracing success that comes easily often stems from deep-rooted psychological beliefs. People may feel unworthy of success unless it’s earned through hardship, equating ease with a lack of value. This mindset can lead to self-sabotage, overcompensation, or feelings of impostor syndrome. These beliefs are ingrained through societal narratives, such as “No pain, no gain,” and can prevent individuals from fully enjoying their achievements. Recognizing and challenging these mindsets is the first step toward reframing success not as something tied to suffering but as something deserved on its own. Read more about these limiting beliefs on Silicon Canals
Why does believing suffering equals worthiness hinder people from accepting success?
The belief that suffering equals worthiness is rooted in societal narratives that glorify struggle as the only valid path to achievement. For example, stories of entrepreneurs working tirelessly through hardships are often romanticized. This makes people feel as if their own success isn’t valid unless it involves similar struggles. However, this mindset can be counterproductive, as it perpetuates unnecessary suffering and prevents individuals from fully appreciating their successes, especially when they come as a result of efficient preparation or sheer luck. Learn about worthiness and suffering in personal growth from Psychology Today
Does luck play a role in success? If things come easily, what does that mean?
Luck does play a role in success, but it is often a combination of preparation, timing, and opportunity. When success feels easy, it may simply mean that you've aligned your skills and efforts effectively with the opportunities that have come your way. However, the belief in a finite amount of luck can make it difficult for people to accept success. Instead of fearing that something bad will follow the good, try reflecting on the work that brought you to this moment. Recognize the importance of an abundance mindset, a perspective that views success not as limited, but as something everyone has a share of.
How can impostor syndrome impact one's ability to enjoy success?
Impostor syndrome can make individuals feel as though their achievements are the result of luck rather than skill, leading them to worry that they’re frauds. This phenomenon often affects high achievers, as they set impossible standards for themselves and assume others are better prepared or more deserving. Impostor syndrome can prevent you from recognizing that things coming easily to you may be the result of your experience, preparation, or unique talents. Explore ways to overcome impostor syndrome at MindTools
Why is asking for help often seen as weak, and how does it limit success?
In many cultures, the “lone wolf” approach is valorized, leading people to see accepting help as a sign of weakness or incompetence. This belief limits success by restricting collaboration and access to resources that could expedite growth. In truth, most successful people rely on mentors, communities, or partnerships. Accepting help is a form of strength, as it allows you to leverage collective wisdom and energy. Remember, even top leaders, like Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey, cite their support systems as critical to their achievements.
Can success and ease coexist without leading to feelings of instability?
The assumption that “easy come, easy go” is a belief that links ease with instability. However, ease in success often stems from competence, preparation, and streamlined systems rather than luck alone. To counteract these feelings, reflect on the structural and personal competencies that contributed to your success and rebuild your mindset to associate ease with effectiveness rather than fragility. Check out strategies to sustain success in business at Entrepreneur
Does sacrificing personal well-being have to be a requirement for success?
Sacrifice is often wrongly seen as a requirement for success. While hard work and some level of dedication are necessary, constantly overcompensating or giving up aspects of your life, such as relationships or health, can hinder long-term productivity and fulfillment. Sustainable success often stems from working smarter, not harder. Learning how to delegate tasks, prioritize self-care, and balance your responsibilities leads to healthier and more lasting achievements.
Why do moments of comfort make people fear laziness or complacency?
There’s a cultural myth that comfort leads to complacency, causing people to equate rest with failure. This limiting belief comes from the hustle culture that glorifies overwork. In reality, rest and moments of ease are crucial for refueling energy, creativity, and innovation. Viewing comfort as a tool for recovery rather than laziness can empower individuals to approach their goals with renewed vigor.
What steps can one take to overcome these limiting beliefs?
To overcome these limiting beliefs, begin by journaling to identify which mindset is holding you back. Experiment with accepting moments of ease and reflecting on how your preparation and strategy played a role. Adopt an abundance mindset and surround yourself with examples of people who succeeded without excessive hardship. Seeking therapy or professional coaching can also aid in reframing these beliefs. Combine self-awareness with intentional action to reshape your perspective on success. Discover coaching resources on BetterUp
Are these beliefs about success commonly shared across cultures?
Yes, many of these beliefs are reinforced globally, although they may manifest differently across cultures. For instance, in Western societies, the “American Dream” associates hard work with prosperity, while certain Eastern philosophies emphasize balance and preparation over struggle. Exploring culturally diverse perspectives on success can help challenge ingrained beliefs. Dive into cross-cultural workplace psychology at Harvard Business Review
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the “gamepreneurship” methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the point of view of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.