Stuck In The Rut of Achiever

You cannot seem to ever relax, hangout or chill. You are overwhelmed by all of the things that you know that you have to do and cannot seem to stop to celebrate and appreciate the things that you have accomplished.

If any of this sounds like the hell you find yourself repeatedly in, it is likely that your achiever strength is not receiving the attention from you that it needs in order to empower you instead of being a hinderance.

As p.83 of Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton describes the Achiever Strength, it helps explain your drive to get things done. It also explains the whisper of discontent always in the back of your mind.

Your Achievement ruts will be specific to you, but they hold true to the fact that the strength is subconsciously operating at all times to try and propel you forward. Like the creation of an actual rut, if it isn’t gaining traction to propel you forward, it is going to keeping spinning out and dig you down into a rut.

So how can you prevent your Achievement strength from making ruts? I have found that to ease this incessant drive from digging you into a hole, it helps to personally acknowledge what you have gotten done, or at least admit when something is harder or more demanding than you anticipated to complete. And then make conscious adjustments your to-do list or the expectations you have attached as “essential” to the “achievement” of said tasks and mark completing those as part of your actual tasks.

This in essence helps your “drive” recognize that it is working just fine, and that perhaps less is more and what has been done is good enough for now. At the least, it forces your strength to change the direction it is wanting to go in to better serve you.

For me, my acknowledgment happens in the form of daily journaling and marking off to-do lists. Since I am a visual and hands on person this form of acknowledgement helps reinforce reality as my incessant “drive” often gives me tunnel vision in conjunction with other strengths of mine.

When I am dead tired and yet unable to relax I find that doing this exercise allows me to relax. After all my Achiever strength is just a part of me that is normally pretty good at helping me succeed. When I acknowledge my “ruts” are signs that I just need to give some attention and directions to my strength, I find it and I gaining traction and moving forward instead of remaining stuck.