I see you, Overachiever.
I know you clicked on this article because, like me, you want someone to tell you that it’s okay to be ahead of the curve—and let me tell you, it is more than okay to be ahead of the curve. I’m sure you know how it feels to be over-achieving in something—or everything (shout-out to my over-achieving overachievers), and that feeling isn’t always great. Sometimes it’s lonely, draining, awkward, guilt-inducing, or even embarrassing, and it’s almost always tiring to have to explain to everyone why you’re so young for your grade or your job.
But perhaps I am coming off as a bit conceited and arrogant, after all, there are worse things in life than being an over-achiever. I mean, really, they’re doing so well in life, always the first to get things done and always doing things so…intensely. What do over-achievers even have to complain about? A lot of things actually.
According to an article on LifeHacker, over-achievers run the risk of becoming unproductive people-pleasing failure-loathing machines that live somewhat shorter lives than their “Type B” counterparts. That’s certainly not the picture of productivity that we envision when we think of our friendly neighborhood over-achiever, but it seems to be the elephant in the room full of highly efficient people.
And the question that over-achievers everywhere are asking themselves: “Is it bad to be ahead of the curve?” I’ve already told you that it’s not, but allow me to elaborate.
First, the pace of the world should not dictate the pace of your progress or life.
Think about the progress that we have made as a species throughout time, the scientific discoveries that have been made, the contraptions that have been invented, and the books that have been written which have changed the course of human history. All those people—like Galileo, Da Vinci, Curie—they all pushed the boundaries of the pace of the world. Had they slowed down to the world's pace, their work would have never been accomplished, their genius never realized, and we would have suffered as a society. Nobody called them over-achievers.
Work at your pace.
Just because your pace is not the same as everyone around you doesn’t mean that it’s bad. You may be working days, maybe even weeks ahead in terms of school work or work load—and that’s okay. Or maybe you really feel called to write a book or record your own music at a younger age than most people would normally do those things. Does that mean you should hold back on your dreams? Absolutely not. Forge ahead, create your own path, and you’ll be surprised by how liberated you feel.
Second, who’s to say you are over-achieving, what if everybody else is under achieving?
Over the course of human history, our attention spans have shrunk. It’s just a fact of life that we can see reflected in our media. There was once a time when sitting through a seven-hour presidential debate like the Lincoln-Douglas debates was not only commonplace but an anticipated part of one’s political education and social life. Now, we sit at home on our couches, scrolling through our Twitter feeds while we become bored with political candidates' two minute long responses to questions about topics like foreign policy and immigration.
Our attention spans have collectively shrunk, and as consequence, we are content to do smaller chunks of work for shorter periods of time, in part due to the fact that we are constantly being asked to do more and more in less time, and we are unable to cope. In a way, the state of society works against the overachiever, making the juxtaposition between those who do what is needed to get by—a fine way to live, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not for us over-achievers—and those who go over and above even greater.
Being an over-achiever isn’t a bad thing; for many, working ahead and obtaining a high level of achievement is not only satisfying and stress-relieving, it’s also second nature. Over-achievers, there’s nothing wrong with the way you’re living your life—not in terms of your work ethic anyway.
man running in forestPhoto by 
