Even when they’re not spending their time always getting straight As, studying, playing an instrument, leading the debate team, and participating in charitable volunteer work, the overachiever is, well, somehow still achieving. These perfection-oriented characters seem to somehow be doing everything, perfectly, all of the time which, while great for their resume, can get a little old for the more “average” people around them. But while they might make being perfect look easy, oftentimes a peek below the surface shows us that there are complex motivations that drive these ambitious figures. So let’s take a look at what’s really motivating this drive to be the best at everything and how this attitude can actually hold these perfectionists back from reaching their true potential (plus we’ll break down the weird double standard that is the reason these characters are so often women.)
ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER
The overachiever wants to succeed at all costs, and will do whatever it takes to get there. So much so that, despite admiring their intense ambition, it can be hard for us to root for their actual victory.
“Wait, are you guys talking about Molly Davidson? Yeah. That girl is so weird, she always acts like she’s like 40.” Booksmart
Case in point: Rachel Berry. She may be one of Glee’s main characters, but her obsessive self-absorbedness makes her so unlikeable that audiences actually often root for her failure. The show tries to establish her as an underdog, with her fierce desire to become a Broadway star making her an absolute loser at school. But it doesn’t take long for Rachel to become the de-facto star of the Glee Club, where we watch her drive for the spotlight continually sideline other, just as strong (if not stronger), talents. But while Rachel’s perfectionist qualities are driven by a difficult-to-engage with selfishness, it doesn’t always have to be hard to root for the overachiever – sometimes these perfectionists aim to use their endless ambition for good.
“If you get motion sickness, put your head between your knees because Leslie Knope’s stopping for no one.” Parks and Recreation
For some, the relentless pursuit of success can be driven by a real desire to help others and make change. These characters, like Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope, utilize their type A personality to unabashedly take initiative and lead others out of a sheer passion for their work. Yes, Leslie may be intense, but her perfectionism is driven by a deep love for Pawnee and its people. She may not always go about things in the best way, but unlike Rachel her empathetic traits make her an underdog that the audience wants to see succeed. Leslie may be a rare outlier in a sea of selfish overachievers on screen, but her kindness and empathy make it clear that cutthroat ambition isn’t always a necessary element of success.
Gilmore Girls’ Paris Geller in a way exists between these two types: she is absolutely willing to steamroll over anything or anyone in her path to the top, but she’s also not a bad person. Her intensity and drive to be the best at everything is driven by more than just ego – her rocky home life makes her feel untethered, and like academics is the only part of her life she can really control.
“I got an A minus, okay.” “So?” “What do you mean, so? I got an A minus, I’ve never gotten an A minus.” Gilmore Girls
While Rory just expects everything she wants to be handed to her on a silver platter, Paris is clearly aware of the work she needs to put in to get what she wants and doesn’t balk at it. Paris may face setbacks, but they only inspire her to work harder, leading her to eventual success (while Rory’s coasting-through-the motions only sends her down a path of defeat…)
Whether we root for them or not, there’s no doubt that the obsessive type A nature of these characters can certainly be a little grating to the people around them. They can often get a bit of tunnel vision when it comes to the rules – they think that if they do everything they’re supposed to, there’s no way things won’t turn out the way they want them to. This can often lead the overachiever to disappointment, when they realize that sometimes you can do everything right and still lose. But it also has a silver lining, because the overachiever is so intent on being prepared for and ahead of any situation, they are usually ready for pretty much anything. Hermione Granger didn’t become one of the most iconic overachievers of all time just by being obsessive about her studies – it is because of her preparedness and ambition to be a great wizard that Harry and Ron are able to survive a majority of their close encounters.
“And leave Hermione? Are you mad? We wouldn’t last two days without her.” Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 1
And although Community’s Annie Edison may not always take the most rational approach to things, her own need for academic success is often the driving force keeping the study group motivated and successful at Greendale. Yes, these characters certainly can be a little agitating at times, but at their best, the overachiever pulls everyone up with them and can inadvertently inspire those around them to succeed as well.
PERFECTION… BUT AT WHAT COST?
While overachievers are able to handle way more pressure than the average Joe, even the most accomplished of perfectionists hit their limit eventually. And when left unchecked, this burnout can have severe consequences. Burning the candle at both ends 24/7 under the pressure of everything needing to be exactly perfect is no easy feat, leading to building stress that will almost assuredly lead to cracking and then… exploding. Pretty Little Liars may not be the most realistic show of all time, but its portrayal of overachiever Spencer Hastings’ spiral into dependency emphasizes just how dangerous striving for excellence can become. Early on, viewers are clued into the fact that Spencer’s need for success is driven by her parents’ high expectations for her future. But when she is unable to balance her schoolwork, social life, and oh yeah, solving the murder of her best friend, she quickly turns to caffeine and pills to keep her life afloat. Being able to be and do everything is crucial for the overachiever, but Spencer’s struggle shows us just how easily this quest for something that seems so positive – good grades, a good future – can lead to some pretty negative places.
“Yes, okay? I slept walked.” “To school?” “Yes! And I’ve taken a couple of pills a few times and it’s not great, I know, but it’s not that big of a deal.” Pretty Little Liars
In Twin Peaks, Laura Palmer is an interesting take on the trope that highlights how looks can be deceiving. At first, it really does seem like she was able to do it all: she had the grades, and the friends, and the beauty, and the bright future, with seemingly none of the apparent downsides. But, of course, we come to find that that very much was not her experience – it’s just that no one knew about how much she was struggling until it was too late. In an attempt to keep up her perfect overachiever front, Laura had actually been living a double life marred by abuse and countless other problems she felt that she had to keep hidden. For many overachievers, the guise of “perfection” is often a deliberately constructed mask used to conceal the true darkness lurking underneath their achievements.
Yet, the realization that perfection isn’t achievable can actually be liberating, leading characters down a path of significant growth that allows them to shed the rigidity of their overachieving traits. In our video on smart girl Alex Dunphy of Modern Family, we unpacked just how important it was for Alex to finally hit her breaking point and fight through to the other side.
“Get straight As for 10 years, spend your summers building houses, drag your cello to school every day, write the perfect perfect essay – and for what?! No thank you Alex! We don’t want you Alex!” Modern Family
She never had to leave behind her smarts or ambition, but to have a happy life she did have to recalibrate her need to constantly overachieve. On Glee, Quinn may be less irritating than an overt try-hard like Rachel, but she still possesses many key traits of the trope – in particular her desire for perfection at all costs. And at the beginning of the series, she certainly seems to have it. Unlike Rachel however, Quinn is hit with several major roadblocks that interfere with her ‘perfect’ life. From her pregnancy to being wheelchair bound after a car accident, Quinn’s character quickly diverges from the ‘perfect cheerleader’ trope that began the series as. But as a result of these challenges, she begins to shed her overachieving qualities as she realizes that there’s more to life than the impossible pursuit of excellence. In Booksmart, class valedictorian Molly comes to a humbling realization that the popular kids she had thought were idiots actually got into prestigious colleges just like her, while also managing to actually have fun while they were in high school.
“This, this isn’t possible, you guys don’t even care about school.” “No, we just don’t only care about school.” Booksmart
While this revelation at first sends Molly into a complete tailspin – making her reevaluate spending so much of her life desperately trying to overachieve in every avenue possible – it also importantly sparks a change in her. By removing the burden of constant excellence from her conscience, she’s able to become a better person, friend, and classmate. Change is possible for the overachiever, and it doesn’t have to mean giving up everything that makes you you, it just takes accepting that nobody (including you!) is ever going to be perfect and that’s actually totally fine.
BREAKING DOWN A SEXIST DOUBLE STANDARD
Alongside their cutthroat ambition and top-notch smarts, a majority of the most recognizable overachievers in media are linked by the fact that they’re all women. Male overachievers do exist, they’re just usually not branded as ‘annoying’ or ‘too much’. Characters like Tony Soprano, Walter White, and Carmy from The Bear are hailed by TV fans for their moral complexities and intense devotion to their work. These qualities make them experts at their craft, allowing them to excel in their respective fields without question of their capabilities.
On the other hand, female overachievers are often portrayed to be conniving antagonists. Their aspirations aren’t what make them a boss, they’re what make them a nuisance.
“He was no competition for me, it was like apples and oranges.” Election
Characters like Election’s Tracy Flick may not be the most likable, but her relentless persistence comes from the fact that her abilities are being belittled and interfered with by older, more powerful men in her life. Tracy is constantly going head to head with men attempting to squash her success, leading her to intense extremes because she is repeatedly mistreated due to her gender. Being abrasive and willing to stand up for yourself no matter how hot the heat gets is often seen as a character flaw in women in a way it isn’t in men.
We see two sides of the female overachiever pitted against each other in Legally Blonde: bold rule-bender seeking to do good Elle Woods and quiet rule-follower seeking personal gain Vivian Kensigton are pitted against one another by the patriarchal structures in which they exist – both the halls of Harvard and the dating scene. But they eventually come to realize that they’re both on the same side, fighting against the same problem: the way all of the men in their life treat them. Once they combine forces, they’re not only both happier, they’re also unstoppable.
CONCLUSION
Despite what they may think, the overachiever is not perfect. And that’s okay! But if there’s one key trait that links them all together, it’s resilience. These relentless go-getters have made a name for themselves due to their ability to persevere through struggle after struggle, and mostly make it look easy… well, at least for a while. They might provide a cautionary tale of how things can go bad when there’s too much pressure to succeed – either from themselves or someone else – but they also show us far determination and belief in yourself can get you when put to good use.
“Actually, I’m highly logical which allows me to look past extraneous detail, and perceive clearly that which others overlook.” Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1
The modern overachiever knows she can do anything she sets her mind to, but importantly she’s also learned that she doesn’t have to be perfect to achieve success and deserve it.