There’s a great Seinfeld episode where George Costanza, convinced that every instinct he’s ever had has been wrong, decides instead to start doing the opposite. It works. George is paranoid, neurotic, and insecure. The opposite for him is actually a better George.
Most cover letters are bland. They all say the same thing. This kid did the opposite and has gotten plenty of job offers because of it.
If the opposite of your extra-curricular activities is, “I’d do just a few activities, ones I actually enjoy, and still have time to get eight hours of sleep every night,” it’s time for a change.
If the opposite of your family’s current college planning experience is, “We’d be relaxed, confident our student would get in and be happy somewhere, and we’d be enjoying ourselves,” why not just make it so?
Sometimes the opposite sounds terrible. That’s when you know you’re already doing something right. If I announced tomorrow that Collegewise was going to start doing the opposite, we’d work only with customers who wanted to attend prestigious colleges. We’d write the essays and fill out applications for our students. We’d inject as much anxiety into every step as possible, and we’d never, ever help a kid apply to schools like Earlham, Colorado College or Scripps. I’m pretty sure after one week, none of our counselors would want to work here anymore.
Every now and then, ask yourself what the opposite would be. If it sounds intriguing, it’s time to reexamine what you’re doing. If it sounds terrible, lean into what you’re doing now. And if you can’t find an opposite, you might not be standing out at all.