Workaholics Anonymous?

What that something is I haven't quite figured out. Whatever it is, it can't be achieved if time is wasted or test points are lost. According to them, they're just trying to achieve success, some "reward." As Benjamin Hoff put it:

"Our Bisy Backson religions, sciences, and business ethics have tried their hardest to convince us that there is a Great Reward waiting for us somewhere, and that what we have to do is spend out lives working like lunatics to catch up with it. Whether it's up in the sky, or in the executive suite, it's somehow always farther along than we are. . . ."

Many of these people fret over small details. Take, for example, the person who gets upset at getting, say, eight out of ten on some quiz. It's important to do exceptionally well, they say, because it's a step on the path to the ultimate goal. They must ace the quizzes to get an A in the class to graduate at the top of the list their senior year to get into an unbelievably expensive college to get a job that pays well to have lots of money for whatever they want to spend it on. That's why it's so important not to miss points, they show me; that's what success is all about. Personally, I have my doubts.

First, let's consider the whole "can't stand to miss a point" concept. Although it varies from teacher to teacher, I'd say that the average number of points a quarter in any given class is about 100. Multiply that by six, for each class, and that's 600 points. Four quarters in each year, raise that figure to 2400 points. Multiply that by three years, and that works out to be, let's see here. . . 7200 points total. Thus, those two "vital" points missed on the aforementioned quiz would lower the outcome in the whole scheme of things about .028 percent, which can hardly be considered significant.

Second of all, what happens when things finally end? Rather, do they ever? What is success, anyway? By working hard all the time instead of enjoying their youth, these people ensure that they'll get that powerjob they wanted, which inevitably means they'll have to continue working their rear ends off for the rest of their life if the job really is really as important as they want it to be. But wait! I know what you're thinking! The job isn't the final part of the plan, right? The high salary is to improve the overall quality of life (because, as we all know, a Mercedes is unbelievably fun when you spend all your time in it on the phone), or they can retire early and enjoy life, which they could have been doing the whole time they were in school.

I feel that many overly industrious people have lost sight of what I consider the most important goal: happiness. To me, happiness is what success is, not perfect grades and lack of sleep. I'm not the only one to think so, either. Hoff compared it to opening gifts on holidays: The presents are almost more fun before they're opened, when we're shaking them and hoping for the best. Don't get me wrong! I'm not saying that we should stop sharing gifts on holidays; the goals do count. However, it's the process that really matters, the getting there. If the process is right, if the goal is truly right, then it results in enjoyment. If not, if the process is forced, if we can't see the goal, then it results in frustration and anger. Frustration and anger can lead to greater ills, such as depression and suicide. Not surprisingly, happiness stemming from a comfortable attitude and appropriate goals rarely results in tragedy.

However, it's more than just these skewed goals that trouble me. Perhaps the most distressing thing about the "Bisy Backson Society" known as Edina High School is not the intense competition, but the reasons that this competition exists. It saddens me when I think that many hard-working students I know do not behave in this way voluntarily; they behave as they do becasue of pressure from their parents. The only thing worse than setting poor goals and going about achieving them the wrong way is not getting to set the goals at all. Something needs to be done about it.

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