BOOK SUMMARY-The Underachiever’s Manifesto by Ray Bennett

The Underachiever’s Manifesto

The Guide to accomplishing little and feeling great

            By Ray Bennett, M.D., 2006, Chronicle Books 96pp. (85 pp. effective), $9.95(Rs.539 by Homeshop18)

            Underachiever? What does this writer want me to do? Does he want me to be a loser then? If that’s not the case, am I to be a pretender by feeling great without achieving greatness? If I had come across this book by myself, some of these reflections would have definitely crossed my mind. Thankfully, I have been spared of this natural thought process this time round, since the recommendation came from one of the serious readers of this page, Nanda. Thank you, Nanda, for the book suggestion.

            The reader doesn’t really know what is in store for her as she reads through the first page. The concepts used for driving home the message are overachiever and underachiever, which actually are misnomers.

            The reader cannot give a diagonal reading and come to conclusions about this book. Overachievers are those achievers whom the society supposedly rewards and advices the younger ones to emulate(implying overachiever is the achiever as understood in common parlance with thrust on achievement at all costs).The reader has to make a lot more effort to understand who the underachiever is. No, it is not an idler, not a failure, but one who can balance different facets of life.

            Think of balance, think of the middle path. Does that remind one of something? Yes, of Buddhism. Of the Ashtangamarga or the Eight-fold Path. This balance has, as its goal, not the competitive pursuit of profit maximization but of happiness maximization. The reader gets a wind of it when brilliant careers are contrasted with disastrous marriages (not as mutually exclusive situations but as co-existing ones), talent and hard work with vices as smoking, drinking and non-exercise, extreme fitness orientation with nasty bodily injuries, et al.

            The main content of the book is divided into two parts- The Basics and The Applications- with some results and conclusions thrown in at the end. The theme is stuck to by having some blank pages in the end (meaning that the manifesto is shorter than the expectation of the over- achiever!).

            The futility of addiction of achievement is highlighted by pointing out to the number of people on this Earth, most of whom would be utterly unconcerned with the achievers’ achievement. At the same time, these indifferent souls would not be interested in anybody’s failures either. Hence the author boots for under achievement, and advises the reader to ‘think globally; underachieve locally’. At the local level,(i.e.) in the family and friends circle too, people would be unhappy about the over- achiever winning as that could indirectly mean others are losing, even if the overachiever does not intend the same, simply because everyone’s assessment of the goals is relative. Since success breeds frustration and jealousy, striving is suffering.

            The author takes a close look at the role of socialization in rewarding the appropriate learning to be fit, educated, creative and hopefully socially responsible individuals –which indirectly causes achievement to be more than a goal, an addiction.

            The addicted overachiever makes achievement an end in itself at a great cost-cheating on tax, losing out on personal relationships, etc. The ‘victims’ (that the author did not use the words, winner or loser, is worthy of note) of this addiction have some terrible combinations of failed relationships, unhealthy bodies or corrupted minds, but cannot be provided care since many doctors are also afflicted with this.

            Like the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, the author sets forth Ten Principles of Underachievement (including one obvious one)- Life is too short, Control is an illusion, Expectations lead to misery, Great expectations lead to great misery, Achievement creates expectations, The law of Diminishing Returns applies everywhere, Perfect is the enemy of good, The tallest blade of grass is the surest to be cut, Accomplishment is in the eye of the beholder and The 4% value added principle.

            The author leaves the reader to ponder over what one would do if one were to die in a second- squeeze in some more or enjoy it. Since many of the factors leading to success are way beyond one’s control, the author points to the futility in pressurizing oneself into success. The author adds that higher bars do not always help, as they may make the trier quit in disappointment and exasperation. Tighter scripts raise the stakes and thereby create a lower possibility of adherence to them. The solution given by the author is that one should treat an event ‘more like a party than a play’. Companies which set newer records in achievement need to surpass them every year, which could make them tempted to cut corners. Bennett does not find sense in people going on the overdrive, like more expensive possessions- they may not really be worth their premium, nor do they imply that enjoyment actually began with their acquisition. His statement just sticks to the heart: ’More is not always better, and good enough is good enough’. To justify that perfect is the enemy of good, the author invokes some dictionary synonyms for the word perfectionist like nit-picker, fuss pot etc., which have negative connotations. Since the over achiever has perfection on mind, it becomes much easier for him to become over worked.

            The author asks the question “who really cares?” to drive home the principle that accomplishment was in the eye of the beholder. He further questions the notion of achievement when the achievers and the non-achievers are 96% similar to the apes and when bacteria is extremely successful without working hard for it and goes on to add that being alive is by far one’s greatest achievement.

            Similar to the Ashtangamarga are the seven applications of the underachievers’ guide to life- at work, in love, in diet, in workout, in financial planning, at home and in faith.

The author applies some scientific concepts to underscore how envy and jealousy pull down the over- achiever to the average performance. This bit is written very humorously. Bennett sees no sense in the over- achiever causing job insecurity to the others or in the eagerness with which people scramble to take credit or in the resultant stance of the over- achiever towards his co-workers. By contrast, the underachiever does not go overboard on any issue, takes failure in her stride and never complains about difficulties and, thereby achieves more than the perfectionist. The author draws the conclusions that those who work twice as hard, burn out twice as fast, and that the extra mile only leads to exhaustion. By now, the reader tends to wonder whether the book is all about just staying afloat, so the author gives a piece of advice to keep out of the rat race, since one’s best (local) may still be far short of the requirement or the global best so far. Instead, one could balance relationships better when one couldn’t compensate for loss of family time with huge chunks of money. Moreover, as one achieves more, one has to work harder to outsmart other over- achievers with whom they compete; instead, one could follow the proverb, ’slow and steady wins the race’, and live long, cultivate a hobby and invest in friendships.

            While the over- achiever’s date is akin to a high pressure interview requiring ‘strategic thinking typically reserved for business planning’, the underachiever doesn’t try for the perfect mate, has mutual respect for the mate, and breaks up more amicably and without desperation. The underachiever doesn’t expect to be perfect, and knows that demanding perfection in a partner is like living next to a mental hospital-a short walk to insanity. The underachiever’s love doesn’t involve the expectation of upping the ante.

On the diet front, the underachiever sticks to the middle in the constant shift from one dietary to another. She does indulge occasionally, but consuming in moderation comes naturally to her. This prevents her from wasting money on hi-fi diets. She does not expect diet as a substitute for love or friendship.

Regarding work out, the underachiever steers clear of the couch potato, who does not work out at all or the overachiever, who trains as though for the X games. She understands that ‘No pain, No gain’ means no brain, as the one who indulges in extreme fitness regimen should be compensating for some short coming in some part of her life. The underachiever chooses easy and inexpensive ways to exercise (including catching proper sleep) and thereby saves herself the extremity of uber fitness or non-exercise (including having a high target and giving exercise up altogether.)

While managing her finance, the underachiever doesn’t look for big pay offs as she doesn’t expect to beat the market, if the best managers were unable to. She is not consumed by greed or optimism for megabucks, so invests in Index funds and IRAs and she saves a lot of money by leading a more austere lifestyle. Since her wants are modest, her resources are better in the wealth ratio:

            What you have

            _____________

            What you want

At home, the underachiever does not try to live vicariously through children. She doesn’t push herself hard, so doesn’t push the kids into insanity, or status symbols, giving them a happy childhood by encouraging and not pressurising. While the over- achiever doesn’t find the ‘right time’ to settle down and plans parenting to the last detail when she eventually finds it, the underachiever takes one day at a time, and lives life as a miracle unfolding. She cares for the child’s future by creating family harmony –‘the family that underachieves together stays together’.

The author identifies the underachiever’s faith as one which doesn’t feel superior to others or that others should see things her way, which puts one at odds with other living persons entitled to believe in those same notions. She does not try to be better than others, so thereby betters herself.

The author then identifies some results of over achievement-frustration, angry colleagues, traffic jams, etc.-and under achievement-serenity, peaceful work relations etc. There is a helpful ‘Underachievers’ Quotient’ or UQ quiz, which has a different and interesting evaluation criteria. The book ends with a reminder that underachievement is not about doing nothing, but about the right effort at the right time in the right place and not one bit more.

If the reader were an overachiever as defined by the book, she would wonder why she spent a decent sum on such a small book which advises her to turn down one notch. But, it is time she realized that this book, written by a person of her ilk, could help her be happier in life, rather than make over- achievement its proxy; this could be one more chance God gave her from being on an overdrive and to make her realize that excess leads one nowhere (‘Ati Sarvatra Varjayet’).With its simple language and profound meaning, this book suggests the way out of extremities by easy- to- follow measures, if only one chooses to!

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