Jonah complex

The Jonah complex is the fear of success or the fear of being one's best. This fear prevents self-actualization, or the realization of one's own potential.[1][2] It is the fear of one's own greatness, the evasion of one's destiny, or the avoidance of exercising one's talents.[1][3] As the fear of achieving a personal worst may serve to motivate personal growth, likewise the fear of achieving a personal best may hinder achievement.[1]

Jonah escapes from the belly of the great fish that has held him captive.[4][5]

The Jonah complex is evident in neurotic people.[6]

  1. ^ a b c Abraham Maslow (October 1993). "The Jonah Complex". The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. Penguin Publishing. ISBN 9780140194708.
  2. ^ Department of Cognitive Science, Chris VerWys. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Personality Psychology, Abraham Maslow
  3. ^ Haronian, Frank (15 December 1967). "The Repression of the sublime" (PDF). Retrieved 5 October 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Orig. Hebrew (דָּג (גָּדוֹל.
  5. ^ "Jonah ch. 2, vv. 1, 2, 11" in many versions (MT (Masoretic Text), LXX (Septuagint), D–R (Douay–Rheims Bible), NAB (New American Bible), NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), and others); "Jonah ch. 1, v. 17 and ch. 2, vv. 1, 10" in KJV (King James Version) and many other Protestant translations.
  6. ^ Feist, Gregory; Feist, Jess (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed.). New York McGraw-Hill Higher Education. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-07-338270-8.