How Arrogance Actually Destroys Your Improvement
External factors become your life support.
All successful people have one characteristic in common — confidence. This attribute determines the power and effectiveness of their work. It characterizes the way people treat them and what they produce.
But with this necessary component for blazing your own trail comes the opposing characteristic of arrogance. No one likes a person who is arrogant and stuck up. They dismantle the efforts of other people to build status and gain a hardy reputation.
Eventually, these types of people become comfortable where they are. They see themselves as the ultimate standard of dedication. And in their eyes, no one can say otherwise.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with viewing your work as meaningful. You should definitely take pride in the output you produce. No one is debating that. However, we must address the dark side of believing you’ve made it.
External Factors Become Your Life Support
I’m sure you’ve come across someone who assumed they were the “it” factor. Every move they made reeked of arrogance. It isn’t that they lacked confidence. The problem is they can’t exist without helium from other people and/or things.
“Arrogance is one result of building self-esteem from outward sources such as financial privilege or constant praise. However, yank the external support system away, and the person’s sense of self-worth goes with it.” — Derek Whitney
When we believe the world revolves around us, our perceived value nosedives the moment that no longer happens. Take away the fancy cars, the gold chains, and the mansion. Then who are we?
The strength of your belief in who you are is only as strong as what lies inside of you. Build your inner self, increase your availability for mental, physical, and spiritual growth.
Cocky people don’t work to get better. They work to get attention. That means instead of adding value, they add artificial flavors to success. And often it involves exploiting others who don’t understand their true value.
Confident people, on the other hand, lift others up instead of tearing them down. They motivate people to take action because that’s what encourages active inspiration.
Failing to recognize the difference between arrogance and confidence opens the door to a world of stagnation.
Comfort Is Not Your Friend
If we’re being honest, comfort is what we most often want in life. We want a robust salary, a spacious home, and perfect relationships. If you find a person who craves anything other than that description, they’re straight-up lying to your face.
That’s just how we naturally aspire to live in this age. Comfort is our default strategy. When it comes to pursuing a goal, though, how sure are we that we’re actually willing to suffer for what we want?
Take Elon Musk for example. In an interview with The Joe Rogan Experience, he says he gets “[a]bout six hours” of sleep during the workweek. That’s some serious dedication. Although, he admits that getting less than six hours drops his productivity levels.
I always hear speeches and talks about the discomfort of following the path to your desired destination. The brightest minds reveal certain aspects of working for what you want. But I never thought about it quite like this.
In our pursuits, we must accept the idea that to get where we want to be, we have to step outside of our pre-determined boxes, understanding the road to get there is littered with comfort-holes.
Managing editor and associate publisher of Psychcentral, Sarah Newman, MA, MFA, suggests that we should face those comfort-holes in our path:
“An anxious person might consider their comfort zone to mean avoidance of that which makes them anxious. If this is true, get out of there. Get out of there every day because it’s a trap.”
Along with the challenging obstacles we are frequently reminded of, there’s also the issue of complacency.
Something out there will try and warn you of the scary possibilities of going too far. It sets before you the danger in taking those first steps. But the only way to get any farther is by looking them dead in the eyes.
Every time we drive to work, school, or wherever we have to be, there’s a possibility of getting into a car accident. But to get to our destination, we put our vehicles in drive and press the gas pedal anyway. The same goes for pursuing your goals in life.
When you get comfortable where you are, you cease to improve.
You get this false sense of achievement and lock yourself into a box that never allows you to move. In this worldview, resistance will cause you to cave in to the false narrative of being good enough.
Let Your Work Speak for Itself
These uncomfortable realities won’t go away. They are a part of the journey, whether we like it or not. But here is another fun fact about arrogance that keeps us anxious:
There are a lot of talented people out there. Many of them are better than you and me. So when we assume our work is the best there is to offer, we’re basically setting ourselves up for disappointment.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t even try or that we shouldn’t spend any effort. It just calls for a lot more humility than we sometimes exhibit.
When we over-emphasize our abilities, we hold ourselves accountable in an unhealthy way. Then, when we don’t match up with our arrogant, bold assumptions about ourselves, we’re prone to give up.
Quitting will satisfy your pull to stay where you are and never push the boundaries of your potential. And what you find is a home for yourself that is not what you’d imagined. This home is fully-furnished with stagnation and the ever-present anxieties of past possibilities.
How much better would it be if we went after our goals with our heads screwed on straight, not comparing, not judging, not belittling…just getting our hands dirty in the activities that bring joy to our lives?
- Don’t get too cocky
- Enjoy the “small” wins
- Step out of your comfort zone often
- Focus on the inner you
Open your eyes each day with this concept in mind: that you have a skill-set that uniquely contributes to society.
If that’s true, then there’s no need to puff yourself up. There’s no need to assume you’re better than everyone else. Let your work speak for itself while you keep your eyes on the prize, ignoring the noise and focusing on your purpose.
Kevin Horton is a student, modest book-worm, and wanna-be web developer with a new-found love for writing. He writes helpful words about creativity, productivity, and the enjoyably simple life.
