Lady Cee’s Not-So-Secret Recipe for Underachievers’ Pie

Dear blogger friends and visitors, I’m feeling mischievous today!

It all started with this idea for a light-hearted blog post, which came to me during this week (see below).

Warning – indigestion tablets may be required!

 

Under-achievers’ Pie (serves 1)

Ingredients:

1 generous pinch of procrastination

1 tablespoonful each of foiled plans and thwarted hopes

1 convenient pack of slothfulness

Several dollops of self-doubt

8oz of crushed dreams

Method:

Mix above ingredients together with several cups of negativity and leave to harden.

Garnish with a handful of sour grapes and serve with as much or as little shame as occasion warrants!

 Appetising huh?

****     ****     ***

 I then decided to look for a suitable quote to add to the mix (no pun intended!) and was surprised at what I discovered.

For a start, someone (a doctor no less!) has actually written a book advocating that one settles for underachievement, rather than  strive for success.

If you’d like to read what one journalist has to say about this work, click here:

Intrigued? Want to know more?

Then you are welcome to take a peek inside this book at the author’s Amazon page:

But before you go dashing off, let me share two reviews, which might tickle your taste buds:

This one from Amazon rated four stars (4*) even though the book was supposedly not read!

I knew this volume would confirm what I already hold to be true, so I didn’t read it. In that light it’s the best unread book I can remember for ages. Sometimes not making use of a thing can be revelatory.

 

And this one from Goodreads rated three stars (3*):

So, why did I read this book? Two reasons.

One, I am known to be an overachiever (and after reading this book, this is not something to be proud of, really.)

Two, I hate self-help books and I thought it would be funny to read a book that subtly made fun of all of them at once.

Am I going to start being an underachiever? Probably not. But it did give me perspective. Never be too depressed because you didn’t achieve as much as you wanted, because, truth is… you’ll never stop wanting to achieve more than you already do. It’s a bottomless pit!

Time to sit back with a cup of coffee and stop caring about being productive all the time.

Dear reader, I did find my quote in the end. You may be surprised to learn the name of its originator – I certainly was!

QUOTE:

You must always work not just within, but below your means. If you can handle three elements, handle only two. If you can handle ten, then handle only five. In that way, the ones you do handle, you handle with more ease, more mastery, and you create a feeling of strength in reserve.

(Guess who!) – *See bottom of page for answer.

 

Links:

Amazon reviews:

Goodreads Reviews:

And if your interest has been piqued and you’d like to explore the subject of overachievers, as well as underachievers, you may wish to read this post: (Worth reading the set of strategic golden rules for managing perfectionism)  https://theeducationcafe.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/overachievers-and-underachievers/

 

What’s your view? Do you think there’s a valid argument for underachievement?

Please share your opinion in the comment box below and you are welcome to share my secret recipe with your blogging friends and social media contacts!

 

* Pablo Picasso (Did you guess correctly?)

 

Credit: CC0 Image from Pixabay.com