A Note for the Overachievers 🏆

Hey y’all,

I’m assuming this is the first week of school for many of you! If so, welcome back—I hope this ends up being your best year yet.

But on that note, I want to make sure you take care of your mental and physical health this school year.

If you read this newsletter, you’re probably an overachiever. You’re probably vying for the best grades, participating in a bunch of extracurriculars, and always trying to optimize for your future.

Ambition is great, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your wellbeing. With that, I have a few reminders I’d like to give you…

You Are Good Enough

In the era of social media, comparison is inevitable. Trust me, I’ve spent my fair share of time on college admissions forums comparing myself to other students, obsessing over whether my stats or my extracurriculars are “good enough.”

Look, I know saying “don’t compare yourself” isn’t going to stop you from comparing yourself. But I will encourage you to change what you compare yourself to.

We spend so much energy looking outwards—trying to observe what others are doing and often forgetting what it is that we care about. As such, I recommend that you compare yourself not to those around you, but to yourself.

The formula is simple:

1. Cast ambitious goals.

2. Build consistent habits that will yield compounding results.

3. Try to become 1% better each day.

This is a wholly internal journey, one that should fill you with optimism and drive. As long as you can find in you the determination to continually improve, it doesn’t matter what others do—you are good enough.

Forgive Yourself

Along those lines, be lenient with yourself when you need to be. There will be days when you miss a study session, when you miss a workout, or miss a club meeting.

And look, the reason doesn’t matter. Even if you break your streak for a seemingly “trivial” reason, such as getting dinner with your friends, that’s fine. You should still allow yourself the opportunity to enjoy yourself once in a while.

To be an overachiever doesn’t mean you need to commit yourself to the grind 24/7, even if some successful people convince you that needs to be the case. Small, spontaneous breaks in your routine are acceptable and shouldn’t be a source of guilt or stress.

(I feel like I’m writing this for myself right now, LOL. I decided to watch Succession with my brothers tonight instead of fixing a website bug. Would coding have been more productive? Yes. Do I regret my decision? Not at all.)

Of course, there’s a limit to this. You don’t want to let leniency turn into lethargy. While you should be easy on yourself at times, you should never abandon your goals.

It’ll All Work Out

This was my mantra during college. After every rough exam, I would always remind myself that everything works out in the end.

Would I feel pain in the moment? Of course. But in the grand scheme of things, a single bad test score or an embarrassing mistake would be trivial.

And this is especially evident when I think about who I am today. Any low grades from high school or college feel like distant memories that I don’t think about… at all.

I’m not sharing all of this to invalidate your feelings to to suggest that your grades aren’t important. They are. And sometimes, a low grade might have an unfortunate impact, such as not qualifying for an honor society or an internship.

But again, in the grand scheme of things, I firmly believe that things always work out. The path you end up on may be unexpected, but it's often exactly where you need to be.

What did you think about this newsletter? DM me on Instagram (@goharsguide) to let me know!

If you want study help, come join my Discord! We have a global community of students helping each other succeed in school. I’d love to see you there.

And if you need help with college essays, check out Next Admit! We have a team of Ivy League consultants eager to help you navigate the admissions process.

I’ll see you next week!

Best,
Gohar