Over Achiever Syndrome
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008Today is Tuesday and I do indeed have a topic for you today… it’s the “I think I can do more than can but I’m going to add more to my list because I love new ideas day”, otherwise known as the Over Achiever Syndrome. Yes, I have it. I sometimes get it confused with my “need to be productive even while I sleep disorder” as well as the “busy me busy bee flu” but they’re all actually quite similar.
This is how it works…
I have a to-do list. Usually when I begin my to-do list I run across something else (sometimes related, sometimes not) that I have forgotten about. Sometimes it’s not a forgotten item but a brand new thought. Now, many people would stop right there and write down the new thing and continue on their list. Me, no… I have to stop and ponder and sometimes just jump on board the new bus and take a ride. This of course always leads into to new “oh cool idea” moments and “wow I didnt know that” findings that I must, of course, also investigate. Next thing I know it’s 3 weeks later and I’m back at the beginning of my to-do list… and it’s twice as long as it was the last time I looked, but I’m sure I haven’t enjoyed a single bon bon.
Sorry for missing last week by the way - I was distracted with myself being distracted.
So how do we, the over achieving workaholics battle this? We get married, have kids and add to the list. We work for ourselves so we don’t continually get fired for not finishing the to-do list someone else dictated. We also work around our own self distractions and call it intentional. Sometimes we even allow ourselves to venture off into one of these unending distractions and we label it research. I am a particularly exquisite breed of researcher; I research, don’t mark the path I followed - 3 months later forget I went on the journey to begin with and stumble upon it as if it were new, all over again. So self entertaining!
So the next time you find yourself feeling as though you’ve accomplished nothing because your to-do list is a mile long and you’re positive you haven’t finished a single project in weeks… stop for a moment, one last distraction for the day, and walk memory lane to rediscover how your new to-dos got on that list. I’m sure you’ll find you’ve accomplished mountains of over achieving. You’re just not ready to show the world what your great doings are
Today’s comment have no image for your viewing enjoyment. If i stop to find an image that will fit my thoughts, I’ll decide there are none that fit just perfectly so I’ll have to doodle up something and that will remind me of other doodles I’ve been meaning to do and next thing we’ll both know….
-breath
It will be next Tuesday and you’ll really be wishing for my silly Tuesday’s topics which are two weeks missing. So I’ll let you distract yourself for a moment while you envision your own doodle for today.
-moment of silence for the doodle day dreaming….
I’d love to see your distraction doodles and hear your stories of cluttered discovery!
