Life
10 Oddly Specific Discomforts That All Overachievers Know Well
If you've ever had a meltdown because you got an A- in school instead of an A+, or did the ugly cry because your eyeliner wasn't perfectly symmetrical, then you might be an overachiever. There are certain things all overachievers know to be true — like how frustrating it is that you can polish the nails on one hand perfectly, and the other hand always looks like you did it with your foot instead. Some find our habits annoying; but this is how our minds work. You call us crazy perfectionists; we simply think we have high expectations. Like every other personality type, overachievers have their pros and cons. We're not perfect, but we're not awful creatures either.
I've been an overachiever all my life. It's one of the reasons I've been able to accomplish certain things; it's also, at times, driven me crazy. For better or worse, we go big or go home. This could make for great success or enormous disappointment. We obviously aim to avoid the latter of the two; but nobody is immune to mishaps — not even the people who will do anything to escape them.
Being an overachiever teaches you certain things in life; here are a few many of us will understand.
1The Anxiety You Might Feel Leaving Your Comfort Zone
We love a good challenge, and it scares us at the same time, because we find comfort in being really good at things. Confronting weakness isn't our strong suit, so you can bet we'll work overtime to conquer an uncomfortable obstacle.
2The Devastation Of Finding Something You're Not Good At
This is a hard pill to swallow. Overachievers want to be good at everything; and it takes a lot to bring us down, because we're so determined. But inevitably, we will find something we just can't handle, because we're human and that's how life works. You can't be great at everything. This is reality; but that doesn't mean we'll easily accept it.
3The Frustration Of Working With People Who "Slack"
This might be the bane of our existence. Whether it's a group project at school or a team assignment at work or planning a family reunion, we really dislike people who don't pull their weight — which is a problem, because it never feels like people are pulling as much weight as we are.
4We Are Our Own Source Of Motivation
Believe it or not, there are some good things about being an overachiever, and this is one of them. Never needing to look outside yourself for motivation or inspiration is a wonderful gift, because you can fully depend on yourself. This is simply how our brains are wired, and it's a trait that serves us well in many areas of life — work, school, relationships, and beyond.
5We Have Really High Standards For Everyone Else...
In our minds, there's no excuse for slacking. Why would you just sort of try when you could try your absolute hardest, instead? Some of us realize that this mindset is silly in some scenarios. In life, it's not always necessary to go 100 percent all the time. Other people are comfortable with this, because it's normal; but we don't always understand it.
6...And Even Higher Standards For Ourselves...
If you think we're hard on other people, we can promise we're twice as hard on ourselves. We don't settle, because we think we're capable of more — and there's no excuse not to improve upon ourselves.
7...And When We Fall Short, It Isn't Pretty
We're not good with failure. We try our best at the things we do, and we already know what people are going to say if we fail: "You did your best, and there's nothing more you can do." We understand, and yet it's unacceptable. We don't put all this time and effort in to fail, even though that's part of life. This is one of our flaws.
8What Little Free Time We Have Is Rather Unsettling
A lot of overachievers aren't good at being bored; so we avoid it. It's not hard, because we always find stuff to do. When we do hit the pause button, however — even if only for a few moments — it doesn't take long for us to get antsy. We always need to be doing something, learning something, working toward something, accomplishing something. We have difficulty justifying downtime when there's so much to be done.
9Sometimes, It's Just Never Good Enough
Overachievers are famous for uttering this line: "As soon as I [fill in the blank], then I'll be happy." The only problem is that we rarely get there. This isn't to say that we never find happiness; but oftentimes, we're never quite satisfied with ourselves. We always find ways we could've done better. It's a double-edged sword, really: this is what motivates us to be the best we can be. However, never finding a way to be satisfied isn't the answer.
10We're Don't Like Letting People Down
Yes, overachievers can be a little irritating because we insist on going all out for everything; but believe us: there will be times when this is important, and you'll be glad we are the way we are. We're eager to please and care about being good to the people who matter to us. You can count on us.
