AN OVER-ACHIEVER IS NOW STIGMATIZED

AN OVER-ACHIEVER IS NOW STIGMATIZED

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

Throughout history there have always been people who take pride in their work and others who just get by with as little effort as possible. The ones who want to be recognized for their effort see their production as a reflection of themselves. Many others needed incentives to get them to do the simplest tasks. It is the percentage of the doers versus the takers that determines the vitality of the nation.

At different stages of history nations went through periods of rewarding merit and others rewarded family status. Family name, wealth and powerful connections were the deciding factors in being chosen into the ranks of the privileged few. These different economic approaches have been going on for centuries. In stagnant economic societies the affluent, connected families did not have to concern themselves with the children’s future opportunities. Their influence insured their children top government positions regardless of their training and abilities. Achievement was of little value to advancement. It was all about family and political connections not production. In a free market economy there is competition that rewards hard work. Cut off from the opportunity for advancement, competition ceases and the nation’s economy withers.

In the United States our economy is transitioning into a planned, centrally controlled economy. Too many are entitled to the wealth of others, which is desensitizing our people to the importance of competing with others. The economy has been devalued by affirmative action decrees written into law. Certain groups of people are given preferential treatment for selection in college and employment even if they do not merit it. These laws are being forced by the loss of government funds and federal discrimination suits. This fear motivates states and big business to go along with this government intrusion into their affairs. We are turning towards a national socialistic model of government that chooses winners and losers rather than have them compete in the free market of opportunity.

In public schools achievement is being deemphasized by rewarding everyone equally in academics and extra curricular activities. The millennium generation and a large portion of the welfare recipients are turning towards the false promises of large government Marxist ideals. This naïve reliance on government to compensate for a person’s laziness is becoming fashionable in higher education.

Over achieving is defined as any person who performs better than their IQ would indicate. These people have a high drive to overcome obstacles through hard work to be the best they can be. The quality students who have been the backbone of our educational system and free enterprise are currently being viewed as mentally and emotionally odd individuals. They are not being valued for their dedication and discipline rather as disrupters of social engineering of a less competitive more inclusive lowest common denominator educational system.

Any hard working individuals are supposedly striving too much to compensate for their feelings of inadequacy. These so called chronic neurotics’ “fear of failure” are seen as obsessive, compulsive. They are often called workaholics, pleasers who can’t say “no” to authority figures. These driven people are less sociable and culturally influenced by the latest fads. They are often disliked because they make others feel inadequate and jealous of their achievements. They are demeaned at every turn. Stigmatizing a producer may make the parasites feel better but it does not get the job done.

Yet these energetic doers are the driving force of a free market economy. High performing over achievers are the strength of any business in small mom and pop endeavors. They have to be performing at a high level or they will fail. Those who do the work of several people in any business will keep the labor force down increasing the odds of being a successful business. The same strong work ethic in larger, lean and mean businesses creates more rapid advancement, higher benefits and a successful future.

Destroying the individual who sets high standards is killing “the goose that lays the golden eggs.” Our national educational and economic system is lowering the bar to accommodate the incompetent. Setting low baselines for performance is a catastrophic policy that needs to be reversed to restore our excellence.  The millennial generation is the product of deemphasizing the family, education and work standards. These young adult underachievers are not prepared for the reality of striving to climb the socioeconomic ladder.

More than ever we need focused doers that are over achievers for our country to once again prosper. 

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.