Icarus complex

The Icarus analogy of 'flying too close to the sun' has been applied to
(1) A man with a ‘type A’ personality who does not recognise his own limitations, which is attributed to an internalisation of the father-son rivalry
(2) A constellation of mental conflicts, the degree of which reflects the imbalance between a person’s desire for success, achievement, or material goods, and the ability to achieve those goals; the greater the gap between the idealised goal and reality, the greater the likelihood of failure—this is similar to the first definition, but without the underlying father-son rivalry

Icarus complex

Psychiatry A constellation of mental conflicts, the degree of which reflects the imbalance between a person's desire for success, achievement, or material goods, and the ability to achieve those goals; the greater the gap between the idealized goal and reality, the greater the likelihood of failure. See Type A, 'Toxic core. '.

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References in periodicals archive ?

There is a phrase many mature companies use to describe the mind-set of young, hasty entrepreneurs: they're said to suffer from an Icarus complex, and, indeed, flying too high and growing too rapidly can be the death of some young stars.