Overachiever Quotes

“Our need to be "greater than" or "less than" has been a defense against toxic shame. A shameful act was committed upon us. The perpetrator walked away, leaving us with the shame. We absorbed the notion that we are somehow defective. To cover for this we constructed a false self, a masked self. And it is this self that is the overachiever or the dunce, the tramp or the puritan, the powermonger or the pathetic loser.”
― Maureen Brady, Beyond Survival: A Writing Journey for Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse

“Too many Americans are spurred to achieve, rather than to attach.”
― Thomas Lewis, A General Theory of Love

“I gathered all my news of Joan into a little, bitter heap, though I received it with surface gladness. Joan was the beaming double of my old best self, specially designed to follow and torment me.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

“You don’t need to be an overachiever, you just need to be a quality achiever.”
― Drue Grit

“And then I snapped. I'd been an overachiever all my life, so it made sense that I'd excel in all things. Including emotional breakdowns.”
― Daphne Elliot, Mother Hater

“We were riding the 7:04 a.m. ferry crossing the Puget Sound to the Seattle Academy of Academic Excellence. The sky was overcast with streaks of gray, tufts of white, and shards of sun. Drizzling. All our fellow students who lived in Port Ann made the hour ferry ride to and from Seattle every day. We didn't mind--it gave us two hours a day to do our advanced placement homework, practice our Latin, and eat fries.”
― Autumn Cornwell, Carpe Diem

“What would've happened if Dad had told Abi or me to 'settle down with a good boy'?"

I scoff. "Well, first off, Abi would've told him to fuck off, and you would've probably said you're too young. And then I would've killed him."

She laughs. "But when he told you to, you marched right out there and got yourself a bride. Fucking overachiever.”
― Lauren Landish, My Big Fat Fake Wedding

“I bet some of you are thinking, Who has time to Pause? There’s too much to do! Have you seen my to-do list? I have—and I know it well. I’m a recovering multitasker and overachiever. And I also know how hard it can be to even think about hitting that Pause button.”
― Darcy Luoma, Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

“I’m not an over achiever, I've just been underestimated.”
― Robert J. Braathe

“I'll go all out, ace every test
No doubt, outdo all the rest
Don't pout or settle for second best
So I won't stop, and won't lose my cool
Don't flop 'cause Harvard's no fool
And who'll love me
If I'm not the top of my school”
― Katherine Lynn-Rose

“I rushed and rushed and
now, here I am,
standing on the edge of
nothing.”
― Vironika Wilde, Love and Gaslight