Children as supposed to be loved unconditionally not based on performance. Narcissistic parents try to project all their unfulfilled dreams on their children. The child is not loved for who he is but for what he accomplishes. Children can’t live without their parents approval. The child then realizes that he must achieve in order to be loved.
He mistakenly believes that without his achievements he would never be loved. The child confuses love with validation and admiration. The audience becomes the parents. All overachieving is about compensation for not being loved as a child. When the child becomes and adult he will try to achieve in order to feel worthy of love.