Overcommitment Is Dangerous — But Not For The Reason You Think

The trap of feeling like nothing you do will ever be enough

Photo from Comfreak on PIxabay

I have a problem with overcommitment.

I take on too many responsibilities. And I handle my responsibilities reasonably well and receive praise for doing so.

Right now, I am working through my Master’s Degree, running over 60 miles a week as a long-distance runner, writing as a freelancer, all while maintaining my full-time job as a special education teacher.

And that’s not enough. I keep taking on more. I keep taking on extra responsibility at work. I volunteer to lead a new initiative. There seems to be no end because I believe I can handle it all.

Somehow, I internalized the fact that whatever I do will never be enough.

It’s like a hole of quicksand. I keep adding new commitments and responsibilities to my daily life. I fail to set boundaries between my commitments and my personal life, my personal needs versus my personal obligations.

I complain about burnout, and yet a lot of my burnout is my fault for failing to say no, failing to say “this is enough and I don’t need to add any more to my plate.”