The advantage of not being an overachiever

My husband told me about this graduation speech delivered by a student who wasn't the topnotcher of his class. In fact, he almost didn't make it through the degree when he was still a freshman. The student wondered why graduation rites only gave awards to those who excelled. He brought his transcript of records and held it in front of the audience and told them that even though he failed in some of his courses, he was still able to make it through commencement. He argued that students like him should also be given awards---the I-almost-didn't-make-it-but-I did group. I suppose the guy was right, because it meant that students like him were not quitters in spite of the discouragement brought about by bad marks.

I realized that sometimes it's much better to NOT be an overachiever, because it makes a person strive harder in order to attain better things. It's also easier to live up to or go beyond the expectations of others since they don't really expect a whole lot from you. There's just too much pressure on overachievers because they have to at least maintain their status. Failure is something taboo for them and when it does happen, it's like the end of the world.

When I was still teaching in college, I'd always tell my students not to be grade conscious. Grades are not the sole measure of one's intellectual ability. However, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't work hard in their studies. Retaining the knowledge gained in school weighs more than a very high mark (which could have been achieved by one's ability to manipulate a teacher---like Cher in Clueless). Getting both a high mark and retaining what was learned is even better.

Many many successful individuals did not receive numerous awards in school such as Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, and the Google creators. They weren't attracted to the glamour of medals. Putting their ideas into action was more important to them....but, of course, I'm not saying that passionate individuals should just drop out of school. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't fret over medals we never got. What matters is that we worked hard to get them even if we didn't.