When you achieve one thing, it opens another door full of possibilities ahead. The capability to do so feels like an unspoken power we barely talk about, but it exists within our hands. The grind never meets its end, and it becomes an obsession to never stop doing it. All the plans we've made and how we've achieved them feel like a success that is meant to be for us since we work hard for it, but what happens when we don't achieve what we want? Or when the journey is no longer exciting, yet it tires you out instead?
The desire to achieve more sometimes can become a dangerous state of mind. Overachievers could do more than they should, engaging in risky or even unethical behavior to achieve their goals without failure. These goals could make overachievers want to work even harder, or be more creative with their strategies to achieve them. At times, these goals can be unrealistic as well. These unrealistic goals result in negative emotions: disappointment, frustration, feeling like a failure, or even self-doubt.
Being an overachiever can be a stressful journey and it can be a frustrating journey at times, since it can lead to burn out due to a constant activity that needs to be done. Without the right support to balance the stress, health-related issues would come up. When goals aren't achieved, overachievers would feel frustrated and disappointed hence becoming cynical. When work is prioritized before family, friends, or even hobbies, and no time to wind down or relax, overachievers would eventually hit rock bottom and feel burnt out.
However, life doesn't always have to be all about work or school all the time. Yes, it is necessary to check all the to-do lists. To tone down an overachieving personality, there are many things that can be done. It's necessary to take a step back and recognize the concept of being satisfied with what we've achieved so far. Acknowledge that we're where we are today because we learn in the process to achieve those goals, not because we feel that it's the right thing to do. Take a step back to see the good sides--understanding our strength and its role in achieving those goals, prioritizing focus and acknowledging that we can't do it all at once, embracing failure and learning from our past mistakes, and learning to say no so boundaries are set so our focus won't go elsewhere.
