Aiming Downward (How to be an Underachiever)

In our society we are taught to be the best we can be, to constantly strive to be better and to live up to our potential. Pretty daunting and not a little oppressive given that apparently everyone around us is busy doing just that, and quite a few of them seem to be functioning at a pretty high level if we are to believe what we see in the media. In the book The Underachiever's Manifesto; A guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great by Ray Bennet M.D. he says:

The pleasures of underachievement are many, but they are all too often lost in the pressure for success…. The achievement lobby is powerful, and underachievement is, surprisingly, not as easy as it should be. Our world is so full of unrelenting messages about being the best you can be that it may not have even occurred to you to try anything less. We’ve been brainwashed over many years to believe that striving for success is essential to our well being…. It’s an endless exhausting litany, thanks to advertising stars and corporate executives busy cashing in our inadequacies for their overpriced sneakers and shiny BMWs.

How many of us have stopped in the middle of our constant push to achieve more and better and wondered where the passion went? Is it possible that happiness might be found in abandoning the relenless pursuit of success?

One of my favorite places in France is La Maison Picassiette. This little house was recently classed as a Heritage Site and is considered as representative of the cultural vibrancy and creativity of France. Here is the little brick house of a street sweeper Raymonde Isidore who patiently turned every broken pottery shard found discarded on his rounds between 1938 and 1964 into exquisite mosaic. Every square inch of space on every flat surface has been transformed into colorful representations of all the important religious sites in France. He was a man of great religious conviction yet one who in some ways set his sights pretty low considering his occupation.

How fortunate for the world he did not give in to the temptation to make something better of himself, to become more than a simple street sweeper. One can only imagine how often he was encouraged to aim higher in life. Yet, he followed his heart in some way, taking on a job that did not define him but rather allowed him the space to define himself on his own terms.

If we need more convincing here are some thoughts on the subject written by the man himself, Pablo Picasso:

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.

For a look at La Maison Picassiette follow the link

http://www.thejoyofshards.co.uk/picassiette/index.shtml