Some individuals are…
They don’t come into a room yelling, ‘I’m the star here,’ but you still get that feeling from them.
Their words are few, their gaze is intense, and their demeanor shouts: Who do you think you are?
As if the universe revolves around them… And we are all just co-inhabiting the same planet by accident.
Which is quite ironic, right?
That so called superiority seldom stems from actual power.
Exactly the reverse.
In fact, it is mostly the offspring of a mediocre environment.
Because a truly talented person would never have to put on an air of superiority.
Strength doesn’t bellow.
A decent person is not going to loudly boast, ‘See how wonderful I am.’
An individual who has really developed, does not bother to reduce others in order to feel bigger.
However, someone brought up in mediocrity…
Indeed. Even a single sentence is turned into a power tool.
They could easily just say ‘Good morning’ like everyone else…
but instead, they utter it in a higher pitch, with that extra pause…
As if it was they who had just brought in the sunlight.
Now if we consider this from a psychological point of view.
There is a concept called superiority complex…
But, more often than not, it is just the feeling of being inferior that has dressed up.
It is not an easy thing to live with that feeling of being worthless from inside.
And the mind is smart.
It saves you.
It gives you a new disguise: I am better than you.
That phrase turns into a shield something that covers the vulnerable parts inside.
Without harmony in their soul, a person attempts to persuade others that they are completely okay.
On the inside, they are… Trying to persuade themselves.
Because here is a fact:
People usually require their own deceptions the most.
And when I say ‘mediocre environment,’ I am not necessarily referring to such things as poverty or terrible conditions.
Mediocrity could be an atmosphere where the members are always pulling each other down.
It could be a family where a child is overindulged simply to keep them from crying.
It could be a clique that instills the lesson: Success is not important. Image is.
In such surroundings, an individual understandably learns one thing:
People don’t really care about who you are on the inside…
What they care about is who you seem to be.
So in avoiding building real substance, they instead construct the image.
One of the easiest ways to feel bigger…
Is by making others feel smaller.
Let me explain with a simple everyday example.
There is always such a person at the office.
You ask a question: Where do we save this file?
An average person would respond: Right here.
The superiority-addicted one, however, replies: How can you not even know that?!
The weird thing is…
It doesn’t matter if your question is simple or complex.
They react in the same way every time.
Because the issue is not the file.
It is about power.
They want to create a tiny step at that moment…
So they can step on it.
Instead of developing their own character, they develop it by degrading you.
It’s often something really simple behind the facade of such behavior:
In a situation where there is no real competition,…
Where there is no real standard of quality,…
One can easily trick oneself into being the best.
Because there is no genuinely strong thing to serve as a benchmark.
Everyone is alike. Everyone is okay.
And in such a place… Even a tiny step can convert someone into a god.
That’s the effect of low standards.
They feed the ego.
Now logically, he is even more obvious.
Socrates’s attitude was such: I know that I know nothing.
This sentence is not just about humility.
It is consciousness.
Since when a person becomes truly profound…
He/she sees that knowledge is endless.
Therefore, genuine wisdom does not lead to pride.
It brings about serenity.
However, a person living on the surface picks up two things and thinks he has reached the peak.
Because a shallow brain is incapable of recognizing depth.
Hence it considers itself to be already huge…
Simply because what it contrasts itself with is small.
Watch people who pretend to be better than others. Usually, they do one of two things: On the one hand, they praise themselves all the time…
On the other hand, they criticize everyone else all the time.
Both behaviors stem from the same source:
The person is not fully self-aware, lacks a self…
Not genuine confidence, but a broken one.
One who is really strong inside is not bothered by the success of another.
They can even be motivated by that success.
However, someone who is secretly deficient interprets the brilliance of another person as a threat.
So they try to belittle it: It’s just luck.
They have nepotism.
They’re only successful because of their good looks.
If they succeed in diminishing someone else’s success, they can momentarily forget their own lack and emptiness.
Let me share an example from a gym.
There are some people who cannot lift weights without their soul having a battle.
They lift the bar, they drop it, they lift it again…
But what they are actually training is not the muscles.
It is the ego.
They check out the person beside them.
Then the mirror.
Then the person again.
When they see a person lifting less, they get that familiar expression:
Don’t think you’re so great.
But do you know what a real athlete looks like?
Quiet.
Concentrated.
They focus on themselves.
Because their competitor is not the person beside them.
It is who they were in the past.
That is the difference.
Someone who has been brought up in mediocrity always looks for his opponent outside.
Someone who has been brought up in quality always finds the opponent inside.
This also has to do with the sense of self.
If one constructs their identity around success, status, and applause,
That identity is fragile.
Once the applause stops, it falls apart.
That’s why they get hooked on validation.
And superiority is just a way to get it.
They want others to be small so that they can be big.
They want to put others down to make themselves up.
But this isn’t power.
It’s dependency.
And it’s really an effort. Because the play must be going on all the time.
They must always wear the mask of superiority.
And such a way of life gradually kills them from within.
So, the question that really matters is…
Why mediocrity?
Because in mediocre surroundings one can hardly get any real feedback.
You don’t get challenged.
No one pushes you to a higher level of performance.
Also, nobody will tell you: This can be done better, you know.
Instead, you have the two extremes to choose from:
Either you get too much flattery… Or too much humiliation.
Both are harmful.
Because neither is truthful.
In the absence of truth, the ego gets either overinflated or crushed.
And an overinflated ego eventually goes up in smoke.
Superiority is yet another mask that one can wear as a protection.
A platform erected for just one reason: I feel deeply that something is missing inside me, but I try hiding that from everyone.
This is why the person becomes obsessed with showing off.
They blow their small accomplishments out of proportion.
They cover up their small blunders.
At times they are even self-deceptive.
Since the truth is so difficult to bear: I actually don’t feel enough.
To speak it out loud is a brave act.
Superiority is an easy option.
It is a facade, after all.
And indeed…
Someone who always feels and acts like they are the best probably came from a pretty average background.
On the other hand, a well-raised person learns a pretty powerful lesson:
When you are surrounded by quality people, you can’t talk about superiority.
It is only about development.
Knowledge.
Admiration for skill.
Humility.
True quality is never a cause of arrogance.
It results in discipline.
Arrogance is the noise of vacuum.
Discipline is the quietness of fullness.
Is it possible that such people may change?
Yes, of course, they can.
But before that happens, they have to realize that: Strong is not equal to superior.
Being superior is a manifestation of fear.
When someone is at peace with themselves, they finally stop fighting with others.
Because they know:
Boo yourself (superior) vs. Boo yourself (inferior) = Both are
Neither one is the true self.
Both are tricks of the mind.
And here is the strongest truth I believe in:
If a person keeps developing, then he/she doesn’t keep shrinking other people.
Simply because they don’t have to do that anymore.
Simply because they have no more room for empty.
They find their value internally rather than with the external.
And from then on…
They don’t become superior.
They simply become calm.
Clear.
Deep.
And believe me… Real impact comes from there.
So if someone dismisses you, looks down on you, speaks to you from above…
Remember this: It’s not you who is lacking.
It’s them that have inner turmoil.
When they try to put your light out…
They must have been unable to ignite theirs.
Keep focusing on your journey.
Because true success is elevating without pushing anybody down.
Someone who behaves like he/she is superior is actually not a big person.
It is only their own thoughts that deceive them…
Because they got their small surrounding. And they thought that they were a giant.