Think globally; underachieve locally.
Let us all join hands and do less together. Then maybe let’s all take a nap.
Striving is suffering.
corporate systems exist for a variety of reasons, and one of them is to keep overachievers from making everyone else look bad while assuring a stable norm
Underachievers aren’t threatening to others. They’re unlikely to screw up as often as someone pushing for perfection.
the fastest lane actually makes traffic jams worse.
Going with the flow keeps the commute smoother and safer.
Face the facts: you’re probably not going to be a millionaire, so why kill yourself?
ugly people have good sex, too
demanding perfection in a partner is a lot like living next to a mental hospital:
- bad idea to be in a relationship with someone who expects you to keep upping the ante.
A snack is only a failure if you measure success by the stress-inducing standard of total deprivation”
The key is the wealth ratio: What you HAVE Ă· What you WANT - If what you want is modest, what you have is greater by comparison.
- The more intense the achievement campaign, the more likely and stronger the backlash.
He doesn’t push himself too hard, so he doesn’t feel the need to drive his family insane, either.
The problem is the overachievers in those institutions.
- If the faith of underachievement holds anything to be true, it’s that by not striving to be better than someone else, you’re free to better yourself.
As Aristotle once said, the mark of an educated individual is to demand no more precision from a subject than the subject itself allows.
Remember, underachievement isn’t about doing absolutely nothing. It’s about the right effort at the right time, in the right place. And not one bit more.
You must always work not just within, but below your means.
If you can handle ten, then handle only five.
Notes From: Ray Bennett. “The Underachiever’s Manifesto”. Apple Books.