top of page

10 Signs Your High-Achiever Personality Could Be Holding You Back

  • Apr 18, 2023
  • 3 min read

Written by: Dan Lawson, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

Are you constantly feeling busy or stressed? Do you find it hard to say "no" to requests or invitations? These could be signs that your high-achiever personality is causing you to over-function.


Here Are 10 Signs To Look Out For:

  1. Constantly feeling busy or stressed: You are always on the go and find it hard to relax.

  2. Difficulty saying "no" to requests or invitations: You feel guilty when you turn down an opportunity, even if you're already overwhelmed.

  3. Taking on too much responsibility at work or home: You tend to take on more tasks than you can handle.

  4. Micromanaging others: You have trouble delegating tasks and feel the need to control every aspect of a project.

  5. Feeling resentful when others don't meet your expectations: You set high standards for yourself and others and get upset when they aren't met.

  6. Neglecting your own needs and self-care: You put your own needs on hold to prioritise work or others.

  7. Struggling with anxiety or perfectionism: You feel anxious when things don't go according to plan and tend to be a perfectionist.

  8. Feeling a lack of fulfillment or satisfaction despite achieving success or recognition: You achieve great results but still feel unfulfilled.

  9. Having difficulty delegating tasks to others: You struggle to trust others to do things the way you would do them.

  10. Feeling like you need to be in control of everything: You feel like you have to do everything yourself to ensure it's done right.

If you notice these challenges in your life, it's important to take a step back and evaluate how they're affecting you. While you may be achieving great results in certain areas, over-functioning can negatively impact your overall well-being.


For many high-achieving people, while they say they’d prefer it not to be this way, subconsciously they are choosing not to change because of the fear of them getting ‘lesser results’. However, in every client example I have worked with, the results have been the opposite with an increase in quality of life because of a healthier more functional approach to actionable tasks.


You might also resonate with having already ‘tried everything’ to improve your approach. Like many before you, having been conditioned to do more to overcome challenges, this tends to only compound the problem. Although yoga, mindfulness, and breathwork, are all wonderful practices for example, they still bypass the underlying driver for being an over-functioning personal type which is called ‘spiritual bypassing’.


So what is the solution you are now asking? Well, as no two people are the same a definitive answer here cannot be given, however, the answer tends to be contained within what this behaviour is protecting you from – another way of saying this is; what are you avoiding within yourself?


Most people will be restricted by the limits of their own thinking to get a clear connection from within. This is where powerful transformational coaching will help you uncover and discover the hidden parts of you to connect you to what parts of you need further development. Connect here to find out for you. What difference would it make in your life if you could let go of these challenges while retaining your highly competent self to generate high-quality results?


Comment below!


Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info!


Dan Lawson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

I deeply care about who you truly are. Who you are, deep within. The you that is craving to be seen, that has be lock away and protected from the world for so long. The you that is ready to express all of who you are.


Allowing the parts of you have a voice for them to be heard through my training in Meta Dynamics, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) is a wonderful process in helping you to rediscover and reconnect with you again.


With this space that we create, I support you in using this version of self as a canvas to create the career, the business, the relationships, the family, the reality you deeply love and cherish.


Together, can we meet these parts of you?

 
 

This article is published in collaboration with Brainz Magazine’s network of global experts, carefully selected to share real, valuable insights.

Article Image

5 Behaviors That Sabotage Your Leadership Conversations

Written by Jonathan Rozenblit, Leadership Development Coach Jonathan Rozenblit is a Professional Certified Coach (ICF-PCC), author, and podcast host who specializes in helping corporate professionals discover and develop their unique practice of leadership. His focus is on the inner work of leadership, creating conditions for people to be, bring, and do their best. Difficult conversations are part of leadership. How you show up in those moments shapes whether the conversation moves things...

Article Image

The Six Steps to Purchasing a Luxury Condominium in New York City

Luxury condominiums represent the pinnacle of New York City living, combining prime locations, elevated design, and unmatched flexibility for today’s global buyer. While co-ops dominate the market...

Article Image

Why You Understand a Foreign Language But Can’t Speak It

Many people become surprisingly silent in another language. Not because they lack knowledge, but because something shifts internally the moment they feel observed.

Article Image

How Imposter Syndrome Hits Women in Their 30s and What to Do About It

Maybe you have already read that imposter syndrome statistically hits 7 out of 10 women at some point in their lives. Even though imposter syndrome has no age limit and can impact men as deeply as women...

Article Image

7 Lessons from GRAMMY® Week in Los Angeles

Most people think the GRAMMYs are just a night, a red carpet televised ceremony, but the city transforms into a week-long ecosystem. Days before the ceremony, LA hums with energy: the Grammy Museum...

Article Image

What Happens Within My Sacred Circles?

Healing within the community. We are not meant to heal alone. We’re taught to “be strong,” “keep going,” and “handle it.” But the truth is, when life gets heavy, trying to carry it alone only makes the...

Why Great Leaders Don’t Say No, They Influence Decisions Instead

How to Change the Way Employees Feel About Their Health Plan

Why Many AI Productivity Tools Fall Short of Real Automation, and How to Use AI Responsibly

15 Ways to Naturally Heal the Thyroid

Why Sustainable Weight Loss Requires an Identity Shift, Not Just Calorie Control

4 Stress Management Tips to Improve Heart Health

Why High Performers Need to Learn Self-Regulation

How to Engage When Someone Openly Disagrees with You

How to Parent When Your Nervous System is Stuck in Survival Mode

bottom of page