<p>This is just from my personal observation but it seems to me that the majority of chronic overacheivers that I know are misereable and bitter. I have heard countless people bicker and complain over the past month about how they were rejected from top-tier universities, while less "knowledgable" [or the underachieving] students gained admission into the very school they were rejected from. I even have family members who have attended top-notch schools and even attained professional degress in their field of interest yet they can not find a decent job to save their life. Many have spent years sacrificing their money, time, sleep, relationships, friendships, and overall well-being all in the hopes of becoming successful and now they resent the fact that they must "work under people who attained certificates from trade schools." A friend of my mother's was recently diagnosed with cancer and she is misreable now because she has invested all of her time and energy towards school and now she may not even live long enough to enjoy the fruits of her labor. [The woman graduated at the top of her class yet has never even been in a relationship!] It saddens me that she put her happiness on hold for sucess.. and now it has backfired! I even know people who are highly successfull yet have marital problems and have poor relationships with their children because they put their career first. </p>
<p>I recently gained admission into University of California, Berkeley. Though I am proud to call myself a Cal student, I can't help but feel discouraged by the rigor and intense academic environment that Berkeley has. I do not want to miss out on a college experience all for something that is not promised. A part of me wants to work towards my dream of becoming a lawyer [or a professor], but then another part of me wants to coast through college [with the easiest major possible], travel the world, and become a nomadic hedonist (lol). </p>
<p>How do you guys personally feel about overachieving?</p>
<p>I admire people who put in so much work towards something they really want, it shows an amazing work ethic that I personally lack. And sometimes I think that overachieving is sometimes /under/rated–I know at the beginning of the year, when everyone was asking what classes everyone else was taking, stuff like “OMG why are you taking so many APs this year? Frigging overachiever” and “Well aren’t /you/ little miss overachiever” was pretty commonly heard. I personally don’t like it when someone mocks me for doing well at something.</p>
<p>But I agree that a better balance is something to strive for. Don’t coast, because then you’ll think later on “I wonder what I could have done if I actually tried, what I could be capable of,” but don’t focus entirely on academics. I’ve got friends all over the spectrum, and the happiest ones are the ones in the middle. (the total slackers used to be the happiest, but this time of year they’re realizing that ****, they got rejected from every college they applied to, off to CC it is.)</p>
<p>I think you’ll definitely be able to find a lot of non-academic fun around Berkeley. From what I hear (my cousin goes there, so it’s not just a tour guide spiel), it’s really only as competitive as you make it. The major certainly does make a difference, of course, but you just have to consciously try to find a balance in your life.</p>
<p>Overachieving isn’t necessarily bad. I do think it’s possible to overachieve and have a life. People do it all the time. Perfectionism is what really makes people miserable.</p>
<p>When I was in 9th grade, all I cared about was my grades. I was stressed and miserable and still not even happy with my grades. All I could think about was things similar to the woman you talked about - what if my hard work, for whatever reason, never pays off? I have since then completely changed my philosophy toward school. I do not want to spend my life working to get to the next level - spending all of high school killing myself to get into a top college, spending all of college killing myself to get into a good grad school, etc. Does it ever really pay off? Do people who work their butts off all through high school, college, and grad school really end up happier in the long run? Somehow, I doubt it. I have learned my lesson, and now my own happiness is my priority - everything else comes second. It’s not like I’m a slacker - I work pretty hard because I love to learn and I love my classes - but I’m not going to make myself miserable to get a perfect GPA.</p>
<p>One of my friends is the biggest over-achiever I know; she is not particularly intelligent or gifted, but she works harder than anyone else at our school, and as a result has a near-perfect GPA in very difficult classes and a ton of extracurriculars. She has spent her entire life working, never taking a second to relax. As a result she is bitter, miserable, has driven away all of her friends, never sleeps, etc. All for what - admission to her dream school? I doubt she’s going to be accepted anyway, because her transcript is going to read like the typical kid working hard just to get into an Ivy with no real focus or passion.</p>
<p>No such thing as overachieving? When one works to the point of exhaustion, sleep deprevation, and becomes a complete recluse just so they can become valedictorian, don’t you find that a bit extreme? Cases like these are common amongst “overachievers”; I have seen some resort to drug use [Adderrall] just so they can ace a mid-term. </p>
<p>that’s not really overachieving. it seems to me that those people were cultured with the mindset that academics > personality, attitude, life.
it’s weird, because my parents just gave me a lecture on this. no matter how many A’s you get, no matter how hard you work. it’s your personality that will help you out in the end. and honestly, i think this is true. i think that sometimes we just have to look at ourselves and do what we want to enjoy. a lot of high school students these days are miserable from APs, SATs, and extracurriculars and think they are doing all this for the best of themselves. yes, that is true, but really - at what expense? just as you said, that woman got cancer. it isn’t worth your health or mentality to overstress yourself. </p>
<p>IMO, it’s not really overachieving, it’s an obsession. and with any obsession, there will always be negative effects to your well-being.</p>
<p>Yea, I know this one girl who tries way too hard.
She is super competitive with her friends and they don’t like it.
She is always very very sad, sarcastic, and depressed seeming.
She isn’t as smart as the other people (like never does as well on tests) but works much much more. I don’t think she will get in because of her obsession with grades and Asian Extracurriculars (Science Olympiad, math team, badminton)</p>
<p>I’m an over-achiever. The thing is, if you enjoy something. You will not feel like any of those things. Last semester I had some of my favorite classes and I could study for hours w/o getting bored/tired/depressed. This semester my classes are a lot more lenient but sooo boring. Either way, do what interests you and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Ah, I think we have confused perfectionism and over-achieving. Imo, that is. Over-achieving means going over a standard, to someone’s specifications or desires. Perfectionism is doing that, but obsessing over the fact that it must be perfect. The people the OP referenced to were perfectionists. I find it more commendable to be an overachiever, since that should be the standard.</p>
<p>Right, and then there are people like Obama who went to Columbia for undergrad and Harvard Law for grad…he turned out pretty much alright. I’m sure I’d be pretty thrilled to be Commander in Chief of the American military.</p>
<p>These people [whom I know personally] are not obssessed with executing certain tasks perfectly, but instead go above and beyond in their pursuit for sucess…</p>