Words With Lisbeth

Why Do We Use This Word?

There are a lot of stupid words in our lexicon, but let’s talk about just one today: Overachiever.

Overachiever: someone who achieves too much. Or achieves more than they were expected to. How stupid is that? Like you’re only supposed to achieve this much, and then you’ve gone too far? Or like someone else gets to determine that they thought you should achieve?

What loser came up with that word? And why do we insist on using it?

I never even knew that word existed until I was in my 20′s. We just achieved in my family, as much as we could, as often as we could. Achievement was the result of hard work. We were good with that. Go hard and get results. What part of that formula needs changing? NONE. No part. Zero. Nada. Zilch. And guess what? There’s no limit on achieving. No quota, no tariff, no mark you cannot go above.

You can achieve as much as you want.

Holy fuck. What a concept, right?

Except there are these fucktards who make up words like “overachiever” so that you are supposed to feel bad if you achieve “too” much. It’s supposedly not cool. Well, fuck cool then! I’m going to do what I want to do. And you get to do the same. Glory Hallelujah, right? You want to achieve, I’m good with that. You don’t want to achieve anything? Well, I’m good with that too … as long as you don’t affect me or what I’m doing. Like the Supreme Goddess Chrissie Hynde of the Kingdom of the Pretenders once sang: “I got a smile for everyone I meet. As long as you don’t try dragging my bay, or dropping the bomb on my street.” (I don’t have a bay — you may not either — but I think we can safely assume we’re taking a ride in Metaphor Land on this one. We understand what she’s saying.)

Anyhow, my point is this: Go do your shit and stop listening to morons. There is no such thing as “overachieving” — there’s only the reality of kicking ass and making awesome happen. Let the bystanders figure it out and put names on everything. Hard workers are too busy getting shit done! Overachieve … my fucking ass.

Head Up, Eyes Forward

We bring so much on ourselves. We get some thought in our head and we dwell on it, dwell on it, dwell on it … until we have a problem. We don’t really have a problem, but we’ve convinced ourselves that we have a problem, so guess what? Now we have a problem.

Ever do this in the gym?

Then stop it.

Learn what you can from a bad lift and move on. Learn what you can from anything that happens in your life, and move forward, upward, onward … anywhere but the same spot, brooding on your troubles. Your perceived troubles.

You can make yourself stronger through experience, or weaker. The difference is often what you do in your head, not what you do on the platform.

Get back on the barbell and lift the darn thing. Act. Put yourself in motion. Life will get better.