Overachiever
January 9, 2009
Merriam-Webster defines Overachiever as: one who achieves success over and above the standard or expected level especially at an early age.
This sounds only partially accurate to me, based on how the term seems to be used in our culture.
I was recently having a conversation with a friend who happened to be labelled an “overachiever” by his team mates. Only the label didn’t feel like a recognition of his success but an accusation. More than that, it sounded like an excuse.
Because of this I began to wonder if there is a sub-text for the way in which this word was used and often is used in our culture. Perhaps it goes a little like this:
‘Well, you do all of this “extra” work because you’re an overachiever.’
Beyond that I wonder if we can also hear…
‘You do more work than I am willing to do, so I will call you an ‘overachiever’ so that I might find reason not to have to do the same amount of work that you do’
What about you? Are you unwilling to do as much work as the successful person in the office next to you, or are you an overachiever?
Posted in Business, Productivity, friends, musings
January 9th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I’m an around achiever, dear.
Glad youre writing here.
January 10th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Guilty as charged. I’ve used this term in the negative sense when talking about a few choir singers who are involved in so many activities, it seems they don’t have time to simply be children. I often wonder whether the motivation comes from the child or the parent. Perhaps the term high achiever would be a better choice. Thanks. I’ll be more careful with my judgmental attitude.
January 10th, 2009 at 10:09 am
You know Nancy, you bring up a couple of great points that are making me think a bit.
The first is understanding the motivation of the “overacheiver”. The whole issue of parents pushing their kids brings in a whole new element that makes me wonder about the value. My friend is an adult working with other adults.
When you mentioned the idea of not having time to be children, that made me think about choices. I also think that just as co-workers can acknowledge their own willingness to or unwillingness to put in the same effort/time, the “overacheiver” can learn that people make different choices about where they put their own energy and time. It could very well be that my friend has a co-worker who wants to be a world class singer or parent, and their work, while important, doesn’t rise to the level of highest priority. Thanks.