Why did george washington didn't want to be president at first?

George Washington did not want to accept the presidency that the people wanted to give him for fear of becoming a tyrant himself, just like King George II of England, from whom they just declared themselves independent from. When he became president, he made an example by only taking 2 terms and then refusing to continue being president. It wasn't until much later that a law was introduced to prevent any single president from serving more than 2 terms.