Overstriving

I was emailed this recently. It's from The Handbook of Sports Psychology.

Covington (1992) has noted, however that some individuals who appear to show all the qualities of adaptive achievement striving also appear to be riddled with self-doubt when faced with immediate challenge. He has classified these individuals as 'overstrivers' and their continual striving can be seen as having maladaptive consequences. In essence, overstrivers appear to have an intense desire to achieve success and avoid failure. They are often driven to pursue greater and greater accomplishments, and eventually these challenges become an intolerable burden (Covington 1992). Intrinsic satisfaction from such achievement endeavours is rarely experienced and working to reach the next, even more demanding goal can become psychologically debilitating for overstrivers (Burns, 1980). The term used by clinical and counselling psychologists to describe this excessive achievement striving is 'perfectionism' (Blatt, 1995, Burns, 1980).

More food for thought: an amazing photo of Børge Ousland, swimming across a lead with his sledge, in the dark, part-way through his and Mike Horn's winter North Pole expedition last year.

I'm speaking at the Royal Geographical Society for Ice Edge tomorrow morning, then I'm off to New York at the weekend to present part of the Explorers Club Documentary Film Festival. I'm taking my running shoes; if anyone in Manhattan is up for a long run on Saturday and/or Sunday morning, drop me an email.

— Filed under Miscellany