The Overachiever’s Paradox

You have to be somewhat goal oriented to aspire to financial independence or to retire early.  Some would say that you have to be an overachiever.  There are very few slackers who embark on this personal finance journey.  Why? Because it is hard.  Not hard as in difficult to attain.  But hard like it takes a mindset that only a certain percent of the population has.  Therefore, most people never shoot for or make it to FIRE.  Those that do, however, face a whole other set of unexpected issues.  Unlike our dreams of settling down and living the good life, we are often hounded by something a little more unsettling.  The overachiever’s paradox.

Are you a victim?

The Achievement Treadmill

Achievement feels good.  So good, in fact, that it often becomes a goal unto itself.  For those of us in highly lucrative or sought after professions, our ability to survive is based on achievement stacking.  You are only remembered for your last win for so long.

Society, however, is the least of the problems.  Those who fall prey to the overachiever’s paradox are self motivated to keep pace with the ever-increasing speeds.  Yet get nowhere.  Each accomplishment is soon overshadowed by the need for the next dopamine rush that comes with reaching new heights.  It feels good in the beginning, but eventually becomes a panicked attempt to one up oneself.

Being successful can be even more stressful than being downright mediocre.

Slowing Down

The whole point of reaching financial independence and retiring early is to give us the ability to step off these painful treadmills.  To exit from the so called rat race, and live a more calm and purposeful life.  Which all sounds really great if it weren’t for the overachiever’s paradox.

What’s the overachiever’s paradox?

Simply put, the more overachievers try to slow down and free up space in their lives, the busier they become.  Sounds crazy, right?

If only it were so.

Half Retirement, Whole Life

I recently lessened my work load greatly by leaving my nursing home practice and concentrating on hospice medicine only.  This reduced my schedule by approximately fifty percent.  While in the midst of this major life change, I planned to slow down.  Although I already had a number of projects to work on, I felt that after decades of rushing, I needed a little bit of a mental break.

Several months before half retirement day zero, the overachiever’s paradox kicked in.  David of Fiology convinced Paul Thompson and I to start a podcast.  Katherine and I decided to partner on DiverseFI and create a new look and better branding.

A new opportunity came across my desk, and I might expand my hospice hours a touch.

And all that’s before I even include all the books I am planning to read, and the gym membership I was considering buying.

Busy Can Be Healthy

While chatting with a good friend about her exciting new venture, I realized that the overachiever’s paradox is not exactly a bad thing.  How lucky is it to have a life brimming over with exciting activities?   It only becomes noxious when the treadmill starts to speed up too fast, and the journey becomes majorly stressful.

The best antidote, I believe, is creating internal, self-fulfilling goals for success that aren’t dependent on outside validation.  For the podcast, for instance, that may mean shunning monetization or download goals and focusing more on creating a product that I am proud of.

Final Thoughts

The overachiever’s paradox is a real phenomenon but not necessarily a fatal one.  Reaching financial independence allows the time and thought to release some of the stress of our work lives.  Freeing up time, however, creates a vacuum that is often quick to fill back up.

This is inevitable for those who have spent so much of their time on accomplishment.

I believe this can be an opportunity for growth with appropriate and internally facing goal setting.