The Jonah Complex and the Fear of Failure

The Jonah Complex
Student's Name
Institution
Course
Professor's Name
Date
The Jonah Complex
The Jonah Complex refers to the fear of being one's best or personal success. The fear impedes the realization of one's potential in the process Abraham Maslow calls self-actualization in his Maslow hierarchy of needs theory (Goud, 1994). Maslow derived the name from the biblical prophet called Jonah, who ran away from his call to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh. Abraham Maslow says, "So often we run away from the responsibilities dictated (or rather suggested) by nature, by fate, even sometimes by accident, just as Jonah tried—in vain—to run away from his fate" (Goud, 1994, p. 98). Therefore, it is the fear of evading one's destiny.
The Jonah Complex compares with fear of failure. The similarity is that they are a barrier to self-actualization. However, their differences are distinct. The Jonah Complex is motivation driven, while fear of failure is caused by the unconscious mind trauma ...