To all my overachievers…

As I sit here going on hour 17 of my day I’m completing yet another paper, looking at flights and trying to decide when I’ll see Josh again plus trying responding to the last round of emails for the day, I can’t help but wonder what my fellow classmates are doing right now.

I’m the judgemental type so I’ll make my judgements; the party animals are probably finishing up their last round of shots at Cowboys, the slackers have been enjoying their typical 10-hour of staring into the abyss and the Netflix addicts are most likely headed into their fifth episode of “The Good Wife.”

Then, there’s me. But thankfully I’m not alone in this category!

There are lots of me’s out there, I can name at least 15 of you and I met all of you from the last campaign I volunteered on. We are the neurotically motivated, unsympathetically determined, “can’t stop won’t stop” people who spend our days assessing an endless list of obligations and fighting the urge to bite off way more than we can chew.

We are the overachievers.

We accept challenges, explore opportunities and strive to exceed expectations. We lead (even though if you are like me you probably don’t want to), we volunteer and we do more than what is asked of us - provided it gets the task at hand completed. 

Sounds like too much! 

Only to those of you who watch us and feel dizzy!

If you ask us why we decide to put so much on our plates, you’ll probably hear different answers.

Some will say they were raised to be this way, others will claim it’s their own stubborn motivation and some will have absolutely no idea it just happened. 

Honestly, if you asked any of my high school teachers they will tell you I wasn’t an overachiever, I sat in the back of the class half bored not paying attention. They’ll tell you they didn’t except me to achieve much. Maybe I’m an overachiever because I want to prove everyone wrong. I want to prove that I am greater then anyone could have ever anticipated, I wan more for my life then ever thought possible. 

I think people like us are built over time. We work hard to get into university and once we are there we don’t let the next years pass by, we get out our organizers and get involved, chase opportunities and dedicate our time to becoming hardworking, multitasking, college-educated, ambitious humans. 

We make the most of what we’re given and consistently strive for more. A wise person once told me “That the hand we are given isn't the hand we have to play with our whole lives”. I am thankful for that lesson! Oh so thankful. 

No responsibility is too large, no task is too much and no deadline is too soon. We have it covered most of the time but don't shy away from buying us coffee. 

Once we begin volunteering for every open position, taking on leadership roles and offering favours, it’s not always easy to stop. It is our drug!

We know people depend on us, and our biggest fear is letting them down.

We continue adding items to the to-do list and do our best to complete them because nothing feels better then crossing items off our list, all this while trying to maintain our sanity.

There are many late nights, lots of coffee - my veins are now made of coffee - and moments of pure exhaustion, but we keep swimming, never stop swimming. 

To all my overachievers…

Know your hard work is recognized. Others notice the things you do and appreciate the effort you put in. I spent a lot of my life thinking people didn’t notice but believe me, they do!

Don’t forget to take care of yourself in the process! 

Focus on what matters and aim to achieve the happiness you rightly deserve.