Stuck in the Unseen Loss Aversion Trap?
💚 High Achievers Syndrome
"What we don’t change, we choose."
That’s what someone once told me, and it pissed me off—because I knew it was true. 😆
I was caught in the loss aversion trap — a common unseen mistake among ambitious multipotentialites.
WTF Is Loss Aversion Bias?
Loss aversion bias is the psychological phenomenon where the fear of loss outweighs the desire for equivalent gains.
It explains the “one-hit wonder” syndrome in music and bear markets in finance.
It also explains why ambitious multipotentialites get stuck in analysis paralysis and don’t fulfil their potential.
Recognising this hidden trap is the first step to escaping it.
Burnout and Failure
We’re hyper-sensitive and insecure creative people.
As a result, we’re constantly trying to prove we’re good enough by achieving success.
There’s always a metric to measure ourselves —hit records, qualifications, job titles or income.
Driven by insecurities and imposter syndrome, we take on too much and never delegate, as we tend to be control freaks in our work, leading to burnout.
This results in poor performance and, eventually, failure.
When we fail, we lose our identity, as our sense of self is wrapped up in our achievements.
This is a scary place to be.
The Hidden Loss Aversion Trap
This is what keeps us stuck:
Level 1: High Achievers. This is our identity, but burnout and failure lead to losing identity and confidence so we drop to Level 2.
Level 2: Mediocrity. For high achievers, mediocrity is painfully hard to accept. We want to return to Level 1, but fear of failure is crippling.
Level 3: Despair. This is where we fear ending up. To avoid it, we stop taking risks, get stuck in analysis paralysis, and subconsciously stagnate at Level 2.
We fear failing more than we desire success!
This is because when we fail we experience shame and we want to avoid further shame.
Rather than risk failing and ending up in level 3, many of us settle for level 2.
In other words, we stop trying and give up.
This ISN’T a conscious choice, we get stuck in analysis paralysis, self-sabotage our potential, and don’t take action!
👆 Stagnation — or settling — is the loss aversion trap.
The most important question becomes:
👉 Do we A) settle for mediocrity to avoid uncertainty and the shame of failure?
👉 Or do we B) create a solid plan and accept uncertainty, short-term experimentation for long-term success?
Trapped in a fear mindset, we become blind to the opportunities for success, fixating only on the reasons we might fail. This keeps us spinning our wheels.
It’s a shame sandwich, settling will inevitably lead to an unfulfilled life.
If this resonates, know that I see and hear you!
I have true empathy as I was stuck in the trap with the same fears, five years ago.
Breaking Free from the Trap ( Without Burning Out)
The good news is you can escape the trap by taking focused action, but it requires a degree of humility.
We are high-potential individuals but have fragile self-confidence.
Step 1: Reigniting self esteem
Our self-esteem is linked to productivity.
Analysis paralysis stops us from taking action, which means we beat ourselves up for not taking action.
This is why we’ve designed the January cohort to have fun, creative challenges using AI to get clarity, make decisions, take action etc
Why?
Because action boosts our self-esteem.
This is called the progress principle:
✅ What is in motion remains in motion.
Step 2: We Need a Plan
Analysis Paralysis comes from a lack of clarity.
“It’s not motivation you lack; it’s clarity” — James Clear, Atomic Habits
You will get clarity on these four areas:
Who are you?
Who is your ideal client?
What unique value do you provide them? (without niching down)
How do you communicate that value, clearly?
Step 3: Take It One Step at a Time
Multipotentialites often try to go from 0 to 100 mph, which is overwhelming.
Focus on taking your business journey one step at a time—from zero to one, in this case from stuck to clarity.
This cohort is phase 1.
Zero ( Confused) to One (Clarity)
Keep it simple.
Step 4: Detaching Ego from Experiments
Let’s face it: we’re perfectionists.
We dislike trying new things and don’t enjoy being beginners.
The biggest shift I made to escape the loss aversion trap was embracing an experimental mindset.
It was liberating!
I treated everything as an experiment.
It’s not me that succeeds or fails; it’s the experiments.
Some work, some don’t—that’s the nature of experimentation.
But this was a challenging mindset in the beginning as I was flying solo, this is why a cohort can provide the support.
This may seem like a lot.
But with Niche Creator AI, all the pre-set prompts, our frameworks, templates, group coaching, and community cohort support it removes nearly all the obstacles.
Do the work — get the support — get clarity — and feel empowered.
Our January cohort is designed for three archetypes of multipotentialites who want to get unstuck and gain clarity in their niche/ business idea:
High Achievers who have failed and lost their way.
Ambitious Multipotentialites who are determined not to be left behind in an AI world.
High achievers in a 9-5 who want to start their own business but fear the unknown.
Hope this helps.
Peace out ✌️