Shameless Overachieving

Do you remember when the Simpsons first came out and dinosaurs roamed the earth? Back then, when my brothers and my parents were still on speaking terms, my oldest brother decreed that we were just like the Simpsons. In fact, he still refers to my dad as Homer from time to time - an uncanny likeness if you ask me.

For my birthday one year, Bla bought me one of those "Lisa Simpson - Overachiever" t-shirts. She was shown jumping rope, counting (1,001, 1,002...), and everybody thought this was just hysterical. At the time I was offended, but now I realize that being an overachiever is not necessarily a bad thing. For example, I finished my taxes on February 1st, 2005. E-filed. I think I'm probably within the first 100 in the state, nay, the country! This somewhat unremarkable achievement leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

I suppose this is due to the fact that we don't get graded on things as adults. In school, I was never satisfied until I got an A, paid my own bills, did the laundry, put up the spring musical, balanced my checkbook, you get the point. Never one to procrastinate, I could always count on my own ability to multitask and achieve. In the workplace, I multitask all the livelong day, but there isn't anything exciting to show for it: no GPA, no Employee of the Year award. Instead, achievement is measured in adult terms: salaries, bonuses, a muttered "good work" from a superior. While these tokens of achievement are certainly more valuable in a pragmatic sense, I can't help but wonder why they leave me so unfulfilled.