I remember in my GCSE art textiles class my teacher used to tell us that a good piece of work should draw attention from far away but should continuously draw attention the longer you looked at it. The closer you get, the more detail you are able to appreciate. I feel the same way about people. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I like to get to know someone over time and constantly be surprised and intrigued.
Instead, there are some people who treat any and every conversation like an hour long feature on Oprah. Name dropping, humble brags and new profile pictures by the hour. I’m not the first person to be repulsed by arrogance. There are a few occasions where its acceptable to bask in your own glory: your birthday, your wedding day, or if you happen to be Beyonce.
With this in mind, I have always seen modesty as something favourable. (You-don’t-know-you’re-beautiful-that’s-what-makes-you-beautiful) But sometimes it can be pretty destructive. Sometimes it’s the easy way out. It’s actually harder to believe and say ‘yeah I’m talented’ out loud. Instead it is far easier to swat away compliments than it is to acknowledge and more importantly, to utilize what you’ve got going on.
The world is full of talented people, sadly there just aren’t as many courageous ones. Courage these days comes in a shot glass and if it’s not substance induced, it usually comes with a giant ego. There seems to be an unequal distribution. Some people have way too much and live with a false sense of security, while others have none and go through life with a false sense of inferiority and powerlessness. In this sense, I have to admit that there is something useful about arrogance that leaves me no choice but to secretly admire it while simultaneously rolling my eyes and judging it.
I imagine having a giant ego to be something like being wrapped in bubble wrap so you don’t feel the blow of rejection or setbacks. Things, which anyone who has ever worked to achieve anything will tell you, are inevitable. It allows you to change the goal post and your perception of limitations. Risks, failure, success, change and attention are all that little bit less daunting, and those voices in your head listing 1001 reasons why you can’t do something are a little quieter as you strut around swatting away doubts with ‘haters gonna hate’. Those voices are the reason why the kid who wanted to be a football player ended up working in recruitment. What if Beyonce only whipped her weave around in her bedroom?
Sometimes, SOMETIMES, confidence is just not enough.
#NOTETOSELF: Find that balance between being your own biggest critic and your own biggest fan.
Image sources:
1) http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BDP…
Priya Minhas