Why do I feel like I don't deserve success in my career?

Feeling undeserving of career success is incredibly common, especially among people who grew up receiving messages that they weren't good enough or that they had to earn love and approval through achievement. When success comes, it can create cognitive dissonance—your accomplishments don't match your internal sense of worth, leading to feelings of being a fraud or waiting for the other shoe to drop. This feeling can also develop from imposter syndrome, where you attribute your successes to luck, timing, or other people's help rather than your own skills and efforts. You might worry that you've somehow fooled people into thinking you're competent and that eventually you'll be 'found out.' This is particularly common during career transitions or when you're in environments where you feel different from your peers. Sometimes feeling undeserving of success is actually a form of self-protection. If you don't allow yourself to fully claim your achievements, then you can't be disappointed if they're taken away. But this protective strategy also prevents you from fully enjoying your accomplishments and can limit your willingness to take on new challenges. Building a sense of deserving success involves recognizing your contributions, accepting compliments, and gradually expanding your comfort zone with being seen and valued for your work.