Best and Bested

“Always do your best.”

This is the supposedly empowering but actually burdensome line our families and teachers and bosses almost always manage to casually insert in every occasion. It’s no surprise that we are conditioned to always strive for excellence by putting our best foot forward in everything that we do － but please, not at the expense of your own wellbeing.

Giving your all in everything that you do is a noble and respectable action, but it can also be really unhealthy especially if done without rest or placed over basic needs like food and sleep. In a culture that values success, we always strive to be the best by restlessly working, trying to come up with the most outstanding output. However, overworking can lead to prolonged stress, irritability, depression, forgetfulness, loss of appetite, physical exhaustion, mood swings, lack of motivation, and a feeling of deep failure. In other words, you get burnout syndrome.

What’s tricky is since you’re so immersed in what you are doing, you don’t even catch yourself overworking. If you are working and you struggle with time management moreso than usual, feel especially underappreciated and down in the dumps, miss out on your own relationships and hobbies, and constantly feel exhausted or defeated, then perhaps you are overworked right now. It is really crucial for one to be self-aware of these things and figure out whether they’ve crossed the threshold between diligently working and overworking.

So to those who beat themselves up for not always being or performing in tip-to shape, to those who overwork themselves to the brim of burnout, to those who end up having breakdowns and sobfests later on, to those who batter themselves for producing mediocre work: get some timeout and rest, don’t overwork yourself, and know that it’s okay to suck sometimes.

Remember that your outputs do not define you – not totally and never effectively. And most of all, realize that if you so consistently put your best foot forward, then you’re just limping.