That's my life. Did great in school, grades started dropping near the end of highschool. Instead of learning self discipline my parents got a tutor to help me focus. Graduated school top of my class, got a full scholarship for a good college so I moved away from home. Dropped out after a year because I couldn't handle having no structure.
Peaked academically around 15, cruised through the remainder of high school before getting lazy/bored with my chosen degree and quitting uni/college. Have a million ideas and love starting on them, but get distracted easily and miss on the follow through quite often.
This is me too. I wouldn't be surprised if it's mostly a case of being praised for ability rather than effort. Apparently this creates an environment of fear of failure and a sort of "if I don't try it doesn't matter" attitude. I make sure to always tray and praise my kids for trying hard rather than being smart now.
When it comes to work or school I've always managed to do what's expected even if it's sometimes a struggle. But as soon as I'm left with only my own expectations to fulfill, that's when I hit the wall.
I was okay in school, nothing out of the ordinary. Always did my best, but never a talent. But what I noticed is that the more I learn in a subject, the more of a perfectionist I become and the longer It takes to accomplish a task (which sounds like a paradox).
Random question- did you do really well in school when you were young? If yes, did you then get progressively worse as it required more prep?