Caution With Regard OVERACHIEVING

 

NOT to a fault BUT surely, from the time we were good enough to stand up and go to school, we would heard from our parents the recurring motto of NOT just achieving BUT OVER-ACHIEVING.  Fast forward WHEN we become a part of the workforce, NOT just our organization BUT even global human resource entities like Mercer Group peddled that BELL CURVE thing.  And the message was, BELL CURVEs are here to stay.  BUT the spiel DOESN'T stop there.  Instead, it starts there because the messaging that will keep to be resonated is the need NOT just to achieve BUT to OVER-ACHIEVE.  At work, in those performance measurements, if you did well your expected work 100% with no slip ups OR foul-ups, you are just GOOD enough BUT NOT enough to become a high performer💧💧💧

To put things in a balanced perspective though, that desire to ACHIEVE is a major source of strength both in our personal and professional lives.  YES, it generates that passion and energy WHICH would fuel that expected growth and help us, as individuals, to sustain the progress we would have achieved to date.  And without causing undue alarms, that trajectory of achieving MORE until it translates to OVER-ACHIEVING has been on an unabated rise through the decades and NEVER is it expected to dip.  No thanks even to human resource consultants WHO have peddled that BELL CURVE ever since💥💥💥

BUT here's the thing.  To be an OVER-ACHIEVER is poles apart from being a HIGH PERFORMER.  And WHAT differentiates an OVERACHIEVER from a HIGH PERFORMER is that intention behind their seek for greatness.  And by default, the OVERACHIEVER believes that their work will fill that emotional void and that they are defined by it.  WHEREAS the HIGH PERFORMER believes that work is a great way of reaching a concrete goal in life and that performing well is a great way of doing it✅✅✅

YES, unfortunately, many of us experience life growing up doing too much although even from my personal life, to be fair to everyone, that OVERACHIEVING pitch was NEVER forced upon me.  It's just that I had to hear my mother's spiel countless times that OVERACHIEVING is the way to go.  BUT NOT to heap blame on her, I have to be honest, I NEVER heard from her even a sampling of disadvantages BUT frankly, there are disadvantages.  LIKE its impact to mental health because

OVERACHIEVERs tend to struggle with perfectionism and with that constant drive, it leads to more stress and even potentially, depression may creep by then😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  As I'm NOT one to reinvent the wheel, let me share WHAT experts have been highlighting as the downsides of being an OVERACHIEVER [without implying that one should NOT be an OVERACHIEVER]:

• SOCIAL ISOLATION - Due to the intense focus on personal achievement, it is difficult to form and maintain healthy relationships as WHEN others DON'T share the same drive
• LACK of SATISFACTION - Because OVERACHIEVERs may find it difficult to appreciate their accomplishments and enjoy the journey.

Dude, we're cautioned with regard OVERACHIEVING!!! p.s. We're NOT downplaying OR belittling OVERACHIEVERs.  In fact, we should appreciate and celebrate them😀😀😀