10 Signs You Are An Overachiever (And Not The Good Kind)

These are the major downsides of being an overachiever.

A man in a shirt and tie sits on a desk, looking pensive with his hand on his chin. A lit desk lamp, cup of coffee, and open notebook are in front of him. He is working late in a dimly lit office. A laptop is to the side, and shelves of binders are behind him.

An overachiever is someone who performs to a higher standard or achieves greater success than is expected of them.

That sounds okay, right?

What’s so bad about being an overachiever?

Isn’t it good to get a lot of things accomplished?

After all, there are so many things that need to get done! Good grades in school mean better opportunities later.

Knocking out that work project after staying up all night means you can put it in front of the boss and maybe get some accolades.

Things need doing, families need to be taken care of, someone has to get all of these things finished and finished now to move on to the other things that need finishing!

Alas, there are downsides to having an overachiever personality. Not least that the high standard you work to and the success you achieve often comes through ‘excess’ effort.

What’s more, many of the signs that indicate you are an overachiever are seen as negative.

So, what are those signs? What traits does an overachiever normally have?

1. You have problems with anxiety.

A woman with long, wavy hair wearing a light blue shirt stands against a grey background, nervously holding a closed white laptop. She looks concerned or anxious, with a tense expression on her face.

The need to overachieve is often rooted in anxiety and the need to maintain control over everything within reach.

The more control the overachiever can exert over those things, the less their anxiety troubles them.

2. You have low self-esteem and tie your worth to your achievements.

A woman in a short-sleeve blouse rests her forehead against a reflective glass wall, appearing contemplative or distressed. Her reflection is visible in the glass, and the background shows an urban setting with buildings and a paved surface.

An overachiever may associate their achievements with their sense of self-worth. They may feel like they aren’t good enough if they aren’t earning whatever they’re receiving, even if it’s not relevant.

That might be working themselves to the bone at work. It might be overcompensating in relationships because they feel they do not deserve the love they are receiving unless they can somehow ‘repay’ their partner.

3. You have a difficult time accepting failure.

A woman with long brown hair stands outdoors under a clear umbrella, wearing a yellow raincoat. She looks upwards with a slightly displeased expression as raindrops fall around her. The background is blurred, showing a natural, possibly park-like setting.

Failure is not an option for an overachiever.

Yet, most things don’t work out well on the first try. You may have to fail multiple times before you finally get your process dialed in to achieve the result you want.

That’s a lot harder to do when you feel like failure reflects poorly on your character.

Everyone fails at things sooner or later. It’s what you do with that failure that determines how successful you will be after.

4. You assign value to others based on their successes or failures.

An office scene with three people socializing. A woman in a white blouse and black pants holds a coffee cup, smiling as she sits on a desk. Two men, also in business attire, stand nearby chatting. One holds a coffee cup, and the other holds a donut. A plant is on the desk.

You may not mean to do it, but you may find yourself looking at other people through the lens of their successes and failures.

If they failed, then maybe they didn’t try hard enough, work hard enough, do everything that was within their power to succeed. Maybe they were lazy!

Surely, you could have done a much better job if it had been you doing the work. You may have a hard time accepting that sometimes things just don’t go as planned.

5. You are less focused on success and more focused on avoiding bad outcomes.

A woman sits at a round white table, intently working on her laptop. She wears a white patterned blouse and rests her chin on her hand. Papers, a pen, and a smartphone lie on the table. In the background is a white wall with circular shelves holding books and plants.

Success is exciting. It’s fun, and it feels good. But the overachiever does not necessarily view success as something to celebrate.

Instead, the overachiever is more focused on avoiding bad outcomes from their efforts.

They may look for ways to avoid responsibility for failure, refuse to accept blame for their responsibilities, or have a list of excuses for why they failed.

The overachiever will try to land at neutral if they are at risk of failing.

6. You are a perfectionist.

A woman in a business suit is sitting at a desk, holding a magnifying glass up to a computer screen. She appears to be inspecting the screen closely. There is a large plant in the background.

Perfectionism is often a maladaptive coping skill for low self-worth or anxiety.

The need for perfection in one’s efforts or work offers a convenient escape hatch to accepting responsibility or judgment.

No one can ever tell you your work is bad if you are constantly working on it, so it’s never done. An overachiever may be a perfectionist, endlessly toiling over their work so that it never faces the possibility of criticism or failure. Everything must be perfect, and conditions must be ideal.

7. You generally live in the future.

A man with medium-length hair and a beard sits pensively on a wooden bench, resting his chin on his clasped hands. He wears a black leather jacket and looks off into the distance with a thoughtful expression. The background is blurred and features soft natural light.

The overachiever is continuously looking forward to potential problems and projects that are coming their way.

They have a difficult time just being in the present moment and enjoying what they have.

Success doesn’t offer much happiness but instead provides relief that things didn’t go badly. And now, it’s time to start planning for the next project or promotion.

The overachiever is continually looking for opportunities to move forward, even at the cost of other aspects of their life or health.

8. Your actions and choices are based on a fear of being inadequate or not good enough.

A woman with blonde hair sits on a gray armchair, holding a white mug in one hand. She looks thoughtfully to the side, with an open laptop resting on her lap. The background features white shelves with various items.

Many of your actions and choices regarding accomplishment come from a place of fear.

You may work hard, long hours at work to provide for your children, not because you want them to be happy, but because you are afraid of being a bad parent.

The boss knows they can always call on you to do the unpleasant tasks at work, and you’ll agree because you’re afraid of being a lousy employee.

You often say yes to your friends or have poor emotional boundaries because you don’t want to be a bad friend.

The overachiever may work off the clock or secretly try to do tasks to give the impression that they can handle everything.

9. You may have a hard time being mediocre at anything.

A man with dark hair and a beard, wearing a white dress shirt and dark tie, sits on a bed in a thoughtfully posed position with his hands clasped under his chin. The background includes a white wall, bedside table, and an alarm clock.

The overachiever feels the need to be judged and ranked. They may not do things for the joy of doing them or if they aren’t good at it.

Overachievers also tend to be attracted to activities that they can be judged on to fulfill that need.

Art is an excellent example. Any artistic pursuit can bring joy, nurture creativity, and leave you with something you created in your own hands.

But the overachiever isn’t interested in those things. They want to create something great. Something that’s better than what other people do. They can’t be average or mediocre at their art. Otherwise, it’s an indictment of their self-worth.

10. You may keep a close eye on who does what in your relationship.

A man and woman are sitting in bed with their backs against a blue headboard. The man is reading a business newspaper, glancing at the woman, who is looking down with a thoughtful expression while holding a tablet. They are both wearing white shirts.

Relationships require work to succeed. That work ranges from emotional management, dealing with the difficulties of life, getting the housework done, and so much more.

The overachiever may find themselves regularly keeping score with their partner about who does what.

They may also feel like they are in direct competition with their partner to ensure they are a “good” partner.

The overachiever may have difficulty sitting still, resting when they’re sick, or letting their partner handle responsibility. They need to keep up, need to achieve, and prove to their partner that they are worth loving by doing things.