I can see where you are coming from, but that is a skill in and of itself. Go far enough into any technical field and you reach that boundary. Especially if you do research.

It's this kind of thing that develops into imposter syndrome. You've gotten this far doing things this way, and it's always worked. You are told you are smart. Fixed mind set. Maybe you aren't that smart at all. It effects your mental health dramatically. I've literally seen it hundreds of times.

But I do get it. Students are expected to perform at a high level. That approach is expedient and it works well to get everything done.

I recognize things are different than they were 'back in my day', but I was a C student. I did the bare minimum, except for the subjects I cared about. Those I was exemplary.

Now 'kids these days will' say "no that's bullshit. It doesn't work anymore'. That I can tell you isn't true. I have those students. You just need to figure out how to get around the artificial red tape that keeps you from focussing entirely on what you want.

(Sorry for sp. I haven't installed spell check on this phone)