Which side of the ‘pride divide’ do you belong?

Feeling that you are above other people and far better than they are in all ramifications is a kind of cheap way of building self-esteem.  “The concept is so vague that anyone can build their own subjective case for why they are superior. People can decide to pick a trait in which they are strong […]

Feeling that you are above other people and far better than they are in all ramifications is a kind of cheap way of building self-esteem.  “The concept is so vague that anyone can build their own subjective case for why they are superior. People can decide to pick a trait in which they are strong in or at, and decide to use it as an indicator of ‘betterness’ and use it as a yardstick of being superior to others. In this case, a smart person can tell himself or herself they are better because they are intelligent while on the other hand an illiterate can also say they are better off than the literate, because despite them being illiterates, they have all the street smartness and can still survive in the same world as the literate. So, in this case who is more superior to the other?

Feeling arrogantly alienated and falsely superior to others may make you feel better, but it will only put a wedge between you and people around you. Most times, feeling superior is based on lack of perspective. Of course, you might be better off than some people in some aspects but definitely not everyone. It is easy to believe that you are a special breed or that special flower you think everyone wants to have a piece of, but in reality if you can actually see through it that you are just as equal as every other person if not less in terms of their achievements. Giving the people you think you are superior to the benefit of the doubt, you will find out that they are more layered and intelligent than you actually thought of them in the first place.

Some people have the notion that no matter who they meet, there is something wrong as they feel there is never anyone as good as they are. They try not to hang around such people let alone be friends with them. In this world of ours, we need to understand that no one is perfect, so, if we are looking for a way to write off someone, we should also consider what others think of us too.

To some degree and  once in a while, feel  above the crowd, but when we decide to make it permanent, it becomes a problem.

People with such attitude are quick to judge the behavior of others and conclude that they are inferior and do not deserve to be where they are. The feeling of superiority to others is a momentary tool for self-value and safety, but then it is not a good avenue for permanent self esteem, since it disappears easily and requires an ongoing search for another to disrespect and restore one’s own esteem.

Being proud and confident of yourself is by no way a sin. We all need these qualities to get by in the world anyway, but being arrogant and feeling superior towards others are uncalled for and annoying trait to exhibit. Selfish pride, they say, is deeply rooted in vanity. There is a thin line between being confident and being arrogantly superior to others. When you act superior to others, it clearly shows you have some self esteem issues that hinder you from interacting with people effectively.

Always try to keep in mind that no matter how intellectually superior you perceive yourself to be over other, there is always someone out there who is actually intellectually superior to you. Remember also that even if you are 99.9999 per cent in some ways superior to others, there is at least one person that is superior to you in one thing even if it is something as simple as being more humble than you are!

Seriously though try to let go of ignorance, arrogance and the vanity of superiority. Remember, all these only breed stupidity even in the most intelligent people. In other words, try to be humble to everyone you come in contact with as you live life, for, if you don’t, it is really going to  hurt when the day comes along that someone would burst your bubble; and believe me that day will eventually come! So the question is do you want to wait for that day, when your bubble gets bursted?