Key Takeaways
- Overachievers set high goals and are never satisfied with their achievements.
- Taking breaks, practicing self-care, and connecting with others can help overachievers manage stress.
An overachiever is someone who performs beyond expectations, usually at work or school. Individuals who overachieve tend to set extremely high standards for themselves, yet never feel satisfied with their accomplishments. Even if they do great things, they always strive to do more.
Overachieving is associated with greater success in life, but it can also take a toll on our physical and mental health, even affecting our relationships. Learn how to recognize signs of being an overachiever, how this is different from being a high performer, and ways that we can achieve our goals in healthy ways.
What Does It Mean to Be an Overachiever?
There is no scientific agreement as to how to define ‘overachiever.’ That said, this term is generally used to refer to someone who focuses on success but, regardless of how much they achieve, they don’t experience that sense of satisfaction that typically comes with hitting one’s goals.
Although achievement is generally a good thing, overachievement can lead to an imbalanced life. This imbalance stems from the sacrifices a person must make to reach and maintain a high level of accomplishment. Overachievers often neglect their health, happiness, and relationships in order to chase a target that is constantly moving.
Overachieving is common at school and work, with some people also setting high-reaching goals in other areas, such as at home or in sports.
School
In academic settings, overachievers are identified as students who perform above the standards expected for their age level. They are often contrasted with underachievers or students who perform less well than educators expect.
Both terms are commonly used in educational contexts, but not without controversy. Many believe that saddling students with labels influences how they are treated by their teachers and, as a result, impacts how well they perform in their classes.
Kids labeled as overachievers may face higher expectations from their teachers, while those viewed as underachievers may not receive the support and guidance that they need to succeed in school.
Work
Overachievers tend to be very successful in their professional lives but are also often known as hard-driving “workaholics.” Their leadership style may be seen as overly demanding and coercive rather than supportive.
In work settings, overachievers hold themselves to an almost impossibly high standard, applying similar measures to those they supervise. Their high expectations can cause a reduction in morale and productivity. Even if team members respect an overachiever’s work ethic, they can also feel overburdened by the weight of expectations these leaders hold.
Research suggests that overachievers in the workplace may be less happy than people who are not classified as such. Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), for example, have depression at roughly twice the rate of the general population. Their tendency to take on too much work can also lead overachievers to burnout.
Trying to maintain a high level of output and performance can be exhausting if not impossible to keep up for a long period of time. When an overachiever does reach their breaking point, the admission of defeat or failure can be devastating.
Other Settings
School and work aren’t the only areas in which overachievement is common. People can engage in this type of behavior in a number of settings. Parenting, housework, and hobbies are a few additional areas in which overachievement can take place.
Sports is another. An overachiever who takes part in a community sports league might take their role much more seriously than other participants, for example, working endlessly to ensure that their performance is far better than anyone else’s on the team.
Signs of an Overachiever
Being labeled an overachiever isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It may simply mean that others consider us to be smart, successful, and hard-working.
It’s when our successes are overshadowed by anxiety or a crippling fear of failure that it might be time to reevaluate our relentless pursuit of achievement. How do we know if we may be an overachiever? Here are 11 signs.
The Outcome Is More Important Than the Journey
Overachievers tend to believe that the only thing that matters is reaching a certain outcome; it isn’t about the journey to get there. They judge themselves by their ability to reach a specific goal and believe that others do the same.
Failure is not part of the learning process for an overachiever. Poor outcomes can be devastating, so they will often do whatever it takes to avoid such failings.
Rather than feeling pride or joy in their accomplishment when reaching a goal, an overachiever is simply relieved that they have not failed.
A Perfectionist Mindset
Overachievers may be concerned with being perfect. To them, not being perfect is a sign of failure. So, they go to almost any length to maintain a perfect image.
Just as achievement is usually a good thing, being somewhat of a perfectionist isn’t always bad news. It means that good work is valued and there’s a commitment to doing one’s best. It’s when perfectionism becomes a source of stress and anxiety that it can start to take a toll on our physical and mental well-being.
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Excessive Self-Criticism
It’s normal to be a bit critical of our shortcomings. Overachievers, however, have a tendency to berate themselves for failing to live up to excessively high expectations. They often set goals that are impossible to achieve, and then blame themselves when they don’t live up to these unreachable standards.
Studies have found a connection between overachieving and higher levels of self-doubt and anxiety. Constantly striving to reach an almost impossible goal coupled with the ever-present fear of failure can be a major source of stress.
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Only Focused on the Future
Because they are so wrapped up in avoiding negative outcomes, overachievers are constantly worried about the future. This creates issues because they regularly neglect the here and now.
An overachiever doesn’t live in the present because they’re too busy worrying about things that may or may not happen down the road. They’re unable to enjoy things as they happen because they are concerned about what is yet to come.
Poor Work-Life Balance
Never taking a vacation, a day off, or even a short break during the day are all common overachieving behaviors. These patterns may occur from time to time for anyone, particularly during busy periods when there’s a lot to get done. It’s when they are chronic or consistent that overachieving is a concern.
Overachievers regularly stay late at work, dedicate more time to their careers than to their personal lives, and skip out of self-care activities and hobbies to “get the job done.” This leads to poor work-life balance, which is associated with lower life and job satisfaction levels, as well as increased rates of anxiety and depression.
Taking Dangerous Risks to Reach Goals
Overachievers have a tendency to set goals that are unrealistic. As a result, they may be willing to do almost anything to avoid failure. This can become dangerous when it leads to engaging in unethical or risky behaviors in an effort to reach their goals.
Unrealistic weight loss goals, for example, can lead to cutting too many calories to receive proper nutrition. Setting a goal to win a race can result in running too many miles each day to prepare, increasing one’s risk of an injury. At work, an overachiever may find themselves cutting corners or doing risky things to get ahead, putting their livelihood at risk.
Outbursts of Anger
The demand to achieve beyond the bounds of expectations can create a tremendous amount of stress. This stress can contribute to emotional outbursts when things don’t go according to plan.
As an example, a person who is already on edge may become easily frustrated by co-workers who they feel are holding them back or not pulling their own weight.
A loss of temper once in a while is normal. But acting out inappropriately with little provocation can be a sign that we are putting too much pressure on ourselves to achieve the impossible.
Inability to Deal With Criticism
Critical evaluations of performance can be tough for anyone. For overachievers, they can be especially devastating.
To an overachiever, criticism implies failure, and failure is an overachiever’s greatest fear. If we find ourselves taking even the smallest critiques personally, it might be a sign that we need to step back.
Never Feeling Satisfied
Overachievers aren’t able to settle down and just enjoy the present. Even after accomplishing some important goal, they don’t take the time to really celebrate success. All that matters is what comes next.
Moving from one goal to the next without ever stopping to relish one’s accomplishments is a sign of an overachiever.
Feeling Stretched Too Thin
In addition to working too hard in general, overachievers often become involved in many different projects. They aren’t satisfied with being skilled in just a few areas—they want to succeed at everything.
In school, an overachiever is likely to become involved in every club, organization, or activity that they possibly can. At work, they volunteer for as many projects or tasks as they can become involved with.
Rather than becoming the master of many skills, an overachiever may end up being proficient at none. Feeling burnt out is also a likely outcome.
Motivated by Fear
Many different sources of motivation can compel people to work toward their goals. Yet, overachievers are often motivated out of fear. They do what they do because they have a fear of failure, a fear of letting other people down, or a fear of looking weak or incompetent.
Ultimately, they are working hard to avoid a negative outcome (failure) rather than working to achieve a positive outcome (achieving a desired goal). This serves as a source of anxiety, often leading to distress, worry, and other negative feelings, all of which can have a detrimental impact on one’s self-worth and confidence.
High Achievement vs. Overachieving
While overachievers are often referred to as high performers, these two terms are actually different. Both are interested in the pursuit of success, but overachievers are never satisfied with their achievements. Their focus is on the goal, and not what it takes to reach the goal.
High performers are focused on their goals, but they care much more about how well they perform. Their success doesn’t just mean finishing on time or ticking certain tasks off a list. Instead, it’s about the journey, how well the project turns out, and how much they learn along the way.
For high performers, the act of performing something is not simply to reach the end so they can say that it is finished—it’s about the performance itself. It’s about doing something, doing it well, making something better, and learning something from the experience.
How to Overcome Overachieving
There are steps that overachievers can take to help keep their need for success from hindering their physical health, emotional well-being, or social relationships.
Take a Step Back
When beginning to pursue a goal, take a moment to consider why it is so important. What’s behind the drive to reach that goal? What if the goal isn’t achieved? How would that feel? Does the goal have a realistic outcome?
Even though taking a step back may not alter the decision to pursue the goal, it can lead to more perspective or clarity as to what the goal represents. It also serves as a checkpoint for making sure the goal is realistic and attainable.
Practice Self-Care
Even if we are working hard to reach our goals, it’s critical to take the time to care for ourselves. We mustn’t overlook our mental or physical well-being in the name of doing great things.
Self-care involves giving ourselves breaks, rewarding our efforts, and doing something each day that will benefit our health and wellness. Implementing these types of strategies can also make it easier to manage stress.
Connect With Others
Overachievers are known to let their relationships suffer in the pursuit of their goals. However, maintaining healthy social connections is actually more likely to support long-term success.
Take the time to connect with others. Reach out to them, devote time to loved ones, and be willing to let others provide support along the way.
