Normally, I don’t write much about books. Mostly because, honestly, I don’t read much. But The Underachiever’s Manifesto by Ray Bennett is a different story.
What makes it interesting is the source: the author is a medical specialist in Seattle and a recovering overachiever. It’s refreshing to see the advantages of “doing enough” from someone who has actually been on the high-success side of the fence and decided it wasn’t worth the cost.
I know what you’re thinking: “Hamdan, are you such a loser that you need a book to tell you how to live an ordinary life?” I hear you. But don’t form your opinion just yet. As Bennett puts it: “Underachievement is, surprisingly, not as easy as it should be.” I’ve actually read over my own draft of this post multiple times before publishing—partly to make sure it’s good, but mostly to internalize the message I’m trying to preach to myself.
The Problem with Excellence
I won’t judge you if you’re a natural winner. There is a strange joy in being at the top of a list. But if your desire to be at the top is killing you, please stop. There is another way out.
If you are happy and acing life, keep going. But if you’re hitting every target and your life is miserable, then maybe “your commitment to excellence is the source of your trouble.” Consider these insights from the book:
The Perspective: “Your successes and failures really don’t matter to nearly everybody alive.”
The Law of Diminishing Returns
The book also touches on a concept that changed how I look at things: Diminishing Returns. Think about it—a $1,000 phone is not 10 times better than a $100 phone. It doesn’t give you 10 times the value. The author argues that “More is not always better, and good enough is good enough.” Perfection is a curse that prevents us from enjoying what we already have.
Even when looking at the “big” things in life, like investing or even religion, Bennett points out that overachievers tend to ruin the experience:
“The underachiever reasons (correctly) that if highly skilled, even brilliant, fund managers can’t beat the market, then it’s pretty unlikely that he will, either.”
Strategic Underachievement vs. Just Giving Up
Here’s where I want to add something important: there’s a meaningful difference between strategic underachievement and simply coasting through life. Bennett isn’t advocating that we become lazy or apathetic. Instead, he’s pointing us toward something more thoughtful—intentional prioritization.
The real skill isn’t blanket underachievement across all areas of life. It’s discernment—knowing which mountains are worth climbing and which ones you can walk around. Some things genuinely matter and deserve your best effort. Most things don’t.
The question Bennett’s book forces us to ask isn’t “How can I do less?” but rather “Where should I actually be trying?” Maybe the solution isn’t lowering the bar everywhere, but getting more selective about where we place our bars in the first place.
When Bennett says that mediocrity is the key, I think he means: most things in life function perfectly well at “good enough,” and by accepting this, we free up energy for the few things that truly warrant excellence. It’s not about abandoning standards—it’s about choosing them wisely.
Final Thoughts
One of the book’s ten principles sums it up best: “Great expectations lead to great misery.” If we lower the bar strategically—not everywhere, but in the places where perfectionism is draining us—we might actually find the space to breathe.
The challenge now is figuring out which parts of our lives deserve our best, and which parts just need to be done. That discernment might be the real achievement worth pursuing.
A Note on the Process: If you’ve noticed a sudden consistency in my posting, it’s because I have chosen to let AI assist me in formulating and polishing my wording.