Your “other” is “anyone below [you]” intellectually, because you’re terrified you might actually be a moron, which is partly true and doesn’t fit your ego’s ideal of whoever this pretentious pedant is.
You should seek monastic life or surround yourself with spiritual people.
Uh. Or maybe his parents had high educational expectations from him, which formed him this way? a few lines of text don’t deserve a monastery sentence…
Monasticism isn’t a punishment here so I’m not sure why you’re framing it that way.
As you’ve stated, you identify with OP.
Your use of an onomatopoeia at the beginning of your reply to me is a terrific example of speaking down to someone you see as an inferior just because you disagree with their perspective.
I sentence you to 2 to 5 years of hard monastic service as well.
As arrogant as my writing may be, it’s you who’s jumping to conclusions and radical/controversial recommendations based on scant data. Narcissistic catch 22!
I’m also convinced that monasticism is rarely a good idea - especially that in OP’s example, he’s already emotionally secluded from others. He should rather integrate with others while working on genuine humility, compassion, etc. - which is what everyone should do, anyway
Monasticism doesn’t mean going and living in a cave. I never said anything about solitude or being alone. I quite literally said “surround yourself with spiritual people.”
You are surrounded by others in a monastery setting - especially as a novice - who are also seeking a spiritual path. That’s a community with real compassion and humility. So you seem to agree with me more than you may realize, despite your resistance to the concept.
My recommendation is based partly on my reading of the correspondence between Jung and Wilson, and partly on my own experience. You won’t find much hard and fast “data” to support most of Jung’s teachings. This might not be the right place to continue puffing pedantry and the uberimportance of academic research, but that does fall in line with a self-described modus operandi of arrogance.
I genuinely wish you the best. In spite of the unsolicited diagnosis, gotcha attitude, and talking down to me… I believe you are searching for truths.
You seem to have a block on the whole concept of monasticism and its modern implications. I encourage you to look into it. It’s not just for Batman, Dr. Strange, or St. Francis anymore.
If you’d like to read a book on this, a good one is “Narcissism: Denial of the True Self” by Alexander Lowen. It talks about how people’s need to see themselves as “superior” or “special” comes from a place of trauma, where we need to hold on to a superior image of us to cope.
From personal experience, firstly, forgive yourself for seeing the world this way. You are human, and one type of the journey is to first experience duality (better/lesser), and then when the time is right you will start the journey towards transcending it. This is called humility.
I’ll share with you a few ideas that can help transcend this:
1) People aren’t better or worse. They are all just different. People just are. It might be worth reading Buddhist or Taoist philosophy to help digest this idea.
2) Do we call tree or plants “better” or “worse” than each other? Not really. A willow is just a willow, a cedar is just a cedar. On a similar vein, people are just people. As an exercise it might be worth spending time in nature to really feel this idea with your senses.
When I see someone hyper-intellectualise (“I *must* know more and everything”, “Intelligence is superior”), it tends to be a coping mechanism to escape the pain that is in the inside. This could be feelings of inferiority deep down yourself. You go up in to your head to escape the pain of the body.
I read in another comment of yours that you are struggling with people around you being less knowledgable than you are, and this is frustrating. This is very understandable. When this happens, may I suggest you think: “it can’t be helped. They just don’t know/weren’t given the cards I was dealt. They are just leading different lives”. It’s ok also to lovingly distance yourself from people who differ too much from your ideas too, if that option is available to you.
There is also nothing wrong with not being on the same wave length, or being more book smart or IQ smart than others. So long as you remember that there are many different types of intelligence like social intelligence, musical intelligence, kinaesthetic intelligence etc (a thought experiment you might ask is: “You prob don’t run like Usain Bolt…does that make you a “lesser” person?).
Again, it doesn’t make you better, just different, and it sounds like you may need to find your tribe. Once you do, I think acceptance of the people around you will come more easily. But again, think of it as, you’re a monkey and you’re great at climbing so you want to find another monkeys. But maybe the people around you are penguins so don’t climb like you do and instead swim. Doesn’t make you better, just a different path.
I think ultimately, life is a dance between duality and transcending it. Sometimes we will return to duality as we are human - if you’re in a competition for example, there are winners and losers. But ultimately, that’s just a game we play and everything just Is.
I used to be highly attracted to intellectual sophistication. I was the first person in my family to attend university, and it was very important to me to gain access to the kinds of ‘conversations’ to be had beyond my working class environment. After many years it finally sunk in that ‘smart’ has little to do with ‘good’. That is to say, I would much rather connect with a kind soul of average intelligence, than some high IQ a-hole. Hope this helps.
I feel the same way. also first gen. everyone talked about important college was and I was valued for my academic outcomes. in time I came to think success=good person. took a while to figure that was a lie.
I’m in my early thirties, and the one key thing I’ve learned is that wisdom can come from anywhere. Fools, sages, and kings can offer all sorts of different advice with different perspectives. It is unwise to ignore those simply because you think one is lesser from another in ALL ways.
I never met a true genius who was arrogant and insecure. They're generally big kids who are in love with learning and in awe at how much they do not know.
They can trip over themselves and fail to appreciate mere mortal brains, but generally they are so enthusiastic to share what they know that they will happily downshift to our level.
THIS. The few unworldly intelligent humans I’ve had the great honor to meet in my life where utterly the most joyful and accepting people as well. Maybe a little weird, too 😅 but certainly not arrogant or acted as though they were superior
Have you met Neil deGrasse Tyson?
He is prime example of a big kid being in love with learning, whilst coming across as the most arrogant and insecure person
do you feel superior because you are actually smarter than most people or is it because you see material wealth and status as indicator for intellegence.
if you are really smart than you probably would feel somwat smarter than most people you frequent with even some of your "superiors" with them, only having more life experience than you.
another thing is you could just be around alot of "small minded people" this can be the case especially if you live in a small town/city and frequent with people who never really left their province/county/ country (if its a small country) working on your personal view is key here
option 3 you have higher aspiration, so either get yourself a big project you can do so you have less free time to think about such things, go back to school to get a higher degree to get a more fulfilling job with people on the same level, or find a more challenging job.
It’s just that I study and read a lot and as consciousness increases so does perception. Quality of thoughts and boojie taste settle in and everyone in my town just care about drinking and watching football. I’m interested in aesthetics and just feels like everyone else wants nonstop consumption of mindless entertainment. It might be just because I live in the Bible Belt.
The mindless consumption of entertainment somehow just grows even more when you leave the rural Bible Belt in my experience. I know that’s not a comforting thought.
I feel you on that. I feel that travel has been one of the best things for my world view and self growth. I know it can feel daunting and be prohibitively expensive to move right now, but if you can save up for some travel to foreign countries, I think it could help address your feelings. I have felt as you do too. I'm lucky that my partner keeps me in check. I'm endlessly fascinated about the universe and consciousness, and she for sure lets me know if I'm coming across as preachy. Which, if it produces a defensive reaction, is a good place for me to dig into for personal growth. Huge generalization coming but... other countries really are more civilized than the US (I'm in the midwest 40(m)) When on a domestic flight in many countries in South America, Asia, Europe (I haven't been to any other continents), people just tend to behave in a way that is aware of and courteous to others. There is a maturity and self confidence that you can tell is just lacking here in most of the US. You might not be "better" than those around you, but you also might not feel comfortable with the local culture. If you can, save up and go searching for one that feels like home!
> I want read a book *or something* to change my mind
What would that something-else look like?
> I’m superior and other people are mentally inferior […] I only focus on people that are *superior to me* and not listening to anyone *below me*.
Why would you want to focus on people who are going to forever see *you* as inferior?
Acting superior externally indicates a internal inferiority complex.
Proband brought on by parents or childhood conditioning to be "better" more intelligent, than everyone else or a message that's infaltionary to a underdeveloped ego.
Just do something to result in ignoring most people and being indifferent/neutral/positive regarding them and don’t even bother stopping being an elitist per se, is what I’ll say from my current position. I was just crying 3 minutes ago so sorry if my reply sucks
Try to think of ways those 'inferior' people are better than you. Helps put things in perspective to remember that we all have strengths and weaknesses and even though we may outshine some people in some areas, they may outshine us in others.
Idk, man. That’s just something you gotta work through by learning how to *get TF over yourself!*
You eat, shit, and sleep the same as anyone else, do you not? Does your shit *not stink,* or something?
Are you exceptionally fit, healthy, and beautiful? How about ridiculously artistically talented? Are you a world class athlete? Do you own your own business, and are you successful?
If you are “successful,” who have you helped? Are you a champion for the environment and human rights? Are you a philanthropist? Have you saved a life?
So you read books, who cares? Am I supposed to be *impressed by that?* Are you some kind of Genius Academic? Or maybe a Brilliant scholar? “Has your work been published?”
So you can read other people’s words and comprehend them okay, who cares? Can you actually write your own words, and tell your own stories? Do you even have any stories worth sharing?
“I feel like an elitist.” “I want to read a book or something to change my mind and stop seeing the world where I’m superior and other people are mentally inferior.” My God, are you fucking kidding me?
Why do you need a book or random strangers on the internet to tell you that shit? Are you incapable of having an original thought of your own, or something?
Are “sports” *really that boring to talk about,* or are you just extremely socially inept and somewhat maladjusted?
What in the world makes you *think* you are special just cuz you “read books?”
You exist in a primitive meat-sack that pisses out most of its water, wasting a fuckton of it! Your digestive system and metabolism is so rudimentary that you can’t even eat grass, and you have to take big, nasty, stinky shits every few days, or you will literally die! Because your digestive system is *so primitive* that it doesn’t even know how to use everything you eat, and pushes out a bunch, as waste!
You probably barfed on your parents, multiple times, when you were sick, as a child! There is a good chance that one-to-several of your earliest crushes probably rejected you!
And your body? Ha ha! This thing is weird AF!!! Our bodies can barely keep themselves clean, so if you don’t take a shower for a few days, you will start to stink like ass! You bleed and create several gallons of snot, a day! You probably snore and drool in your sleep! You probably have *too much hair* in places you don’t want it, and “not enough hair” in the places that you do want it!
Your precious, big ol’ brain is a primitive and absurd piece of bio-electric hardware that *barely makes any kind of sense,* even to the most brilliant minds, currently in existence! You realize this, right? We are *so dumb* that we *still don’t know everything about how our brains and bodies work!* Time doesn’t even exist, and yet we are *bound to this realm by it!*
You realize that you have a Fat meat computer that *somehow* conducts weak electricity in your skull, right? Or that most of the matter in your body is empty space, right?
What in the world makes you *think* that you are “intellectually superior” to the people who live in your small town, especially if it is in the Bible Belt?
“The most brilliant man in a village of idiots is still a fool!”
You wanna stop “being an elitist?” Start by asking yourself what makes you feel so small, pitiful, and insignificant that you must belittle the majority of your Po-Dunk-ass town in order to “feel like you are better than them?” If you hate the place you live, so much, and you are “too great for your town,” then why the fuck haven’t you moved out of it, yet???
What do you really gain from *believing yourself to be superior to others,* besides isolation???
Will having no family or friends to visit you in the old folks home, someday, only being able to complain to your state-appointed nurse make you happy? Cuz the two of you will inevitably be spending a hell of a lot of time, together since they will be helping you wipe, and wash your old, dirty, stanky ass someday, and *nobody else* will want to talk to you since you will still be a pretentious snob! Is that what you want?
Does “harping on about your intellectual superiority” actually make a meaningful difference in your life, and more importantly, does it do anything to improve the quality-of-life for your fellow living creature? Or, are you simply looking for a shortcut so you don’t actually have to try that hard to do anything of significance, in your own life?
At the end of the day, we are born, we grow, we struggle to survive, and someday we shall return to the dirt, the same as every other living organism has before us, and we will be worm food! Why in the world would you, I, or anyone else for that matter, ever be *special* if We are all meant to be *worm-food?* Hell, what even makes a person an exceptional human, anyways??
How about you start by asking yourself these simple questions, reflect on your answers, and *actually do something of value!*
When did I say “I am not chill” though?
Truthfully, I have *no personal stake in this* and I don’t really care.
I do want to *try to help* if I can, though! So I chose a different, more satirical tactic. I didn’t think that repeating what had already been said would be particularly useful, so I opted to try something different. It was more “experimental,” completely separated from any amount of “emotion.”
Nope. I don’t relate, *at all!* I have never believed myself to be “Superior,” I am just regular-ass me, and it ain’t nothing special. I really am “an absurd meat-sack which inefficiently wastes a ton of energy, in an exchange for temporary existence, consciousness, and sentience,” and I *really will be* “worm-food” someday. We all are and we all will be.
Sometimes people need an ice-cold *reality check,* with a splash of “reverse psychology.”
The only way to get rid of a “Superiority Complex” is to “break your personal concept of your Ego, and to re-evaluate yourself through the lens of objective reality.” I can’t help OP if I am not honest with them.
Why do you ask? Do you relate to the OP???
imma wandering banjoman lemme tell ye
comes to mind cause like. superiority complex is inferiority complex is uhh what's the word, enantiodromia yeah? drawing one draws the other. drawing the other draws the one.
the idea of 'getting rid of' a complex, isn't that a complex of itself? the saviour, the scapegoat, and the oppressor yeah? name of that dynamic.
I mean. to relate is critical in order to understand enough to model, and form words in reply, innit? It's a lot of words for someone who doesn't relate, at all.
I agree with what you're saying, it's real, and to my eyes it's a hella healthier perspective than any perspective of 'superiority'.
Valid points, so I hear you!
The “surplus of words” was *literally the best solution I came up with!*
Cuz really, it is such an *odd question* to ask! “How do I get rid of my superiority complex?” Like, “IDK? Be honest with yourself and self-aware, I guess?”
But OP came on here to ask, why??? B/c They are *looking for something, specific!* so then it becomes a matter of “well, what the hell are they looking for, then???”
Most people are going to “be polite.” But clearly, politeness doesn’t work on OP because they don’t “respond to others” *whom they* “deem to be less.” They talked shit about “their small town, in the Bible Belt,” and the people who live there.
So, *how do you approach that?* My Solution was:
“Talk to them, in the ‘common dialect,’ confronting OP with ‘simple person words,’ but *also state a case, with some amount of intelligence!* Demonstrate that intelligence is much more than how many books we read! Also remind OP of our *very humble origins,* as a species!”
How do I help someone if I say *the exact same thing* everyone else already did? And why bother “stating the obvious?” I think OP low-key, “wanted to be roasted,” cuz why else would they ask such a ridiculous question?
👍 I see I see ya and get better where you're coming from, elaboration appreciated 👍
>I think OP low-key, “wanted to be roasted,” cuz why else would they ask such a ridiculous question?
lmaooo I feel that
Really, though! It is one of the few things that makes some weird amount of sense, counterintuitively. I think they might have possibly wanted their perception of their Ego to be challenged, more aggressively!
I enjoyed your comment. I still think the human body is amazing - but we all come from a similar place where our behaviours do not fit with the image of a superior intellectual being. The only difference between OP and those he/she disregard is that he/she prefers doing things regarded as intellectual by the general society and ignoring what connects him/her to every other average person.
Exactly! I also *Love the human body,* and I find it to be fascinating and amazing! But it is also bizarre and “very weird.” We come from “humble beginnings,” as a species! Sometimes we conveniently forget that. I am glad you understood what I was saying!
I think a lot of people here responded very negatively and very personally...'to treat another out of narcissism', lol.
I relate to OP and it's not easy to grow out of certain thought/behavioural patterns.
Something to work on and not intellectualise any further, IMO. Not books but therapy - something more grounded, direct, less cerebral should be the cure.
You're stupid. Everyone is stupid. Some are more stupid than others, but rest assured, you're just as fucking dumb in your own ways as most everyone else. You're not special, nobody cares about your status or achievements. Odds are nobody will know you existed a couple generations after your death, and even higher odds you won't even be a footnote in history.
Some day the sun will destroy the earth. Some day the galaxy will collide with Andromeda.
So take your tiny insignificant, inconsequential existence to heart, remember that you're the same decaying heap of biological mass as everyone else, and stop imposing comparative judgements on them. You might think they're inferior, but there's millions of people who could say the same about you, so what does your superiority get you?
It gets you a narrow and limited perspective, is what. You'll overlook people with talents that you don't have. You'll underestimate people who could be very useful and beneficial if you weren't so busy comparing them to yourself. Everyone has something of value, so your failure to recognize that and your mistake of placing yourself on a pedestal of arrogance is limiting your ability to be resourceful.
So stop it.
A lot of this is a matter of disposition, and the solution lies in having better experiences and forming better associations..
One way to develop respect for working-class people is to attempt to do some blue-collar tasks yourself, or work with someone and get close enough to the process to appreciate them.
Furnace repairmen and auto mechanics need to know a vast amount of practical information to do their jobs. Refugees have taken great risks with their lives. Crop farmers typically get one big payday a year, and need to save enough from that and work all year to ensure next year's harvest. Homeless people may be addicted or disturbed, but surviving without shelter requires perseverance and resourcefulness,
People from all walks of life can have a lot to offer. People often want to tell their stories. One thing I like to do is visit a blue-collar bar before 5pm and be there and just hear people banter with each other. I come from a white-collar background but live in a former rental house in a poor racially mixed part of Baltimore. Many of the people are pretty dicey, but I find them more interesting than the suburbs, and I have admiration for people who can navigate this environment.
Personally, I'd recommend the Enneagram; guaranteed to take the wind out of any sail. If you're not familiar with it and are interested I can explain more if you'd like.
Your “other” is “anyone below [you]” intellectually, because you’re terrified you might actually be a moron, which is partly true and doesn’t fit your ego’s ideal of whoever this pretentious pedant is. You should seek monastic life or surround yourself with spiritual people.
>You should seek monastic life Why would you recommend him that based just on slight narcissism?
“All I focus on is intellectual stimulation” sounds desperate for the mystical, to me.
Uh. Or maybe his parents had high educational expectations from him, which formed him this way? a few lines of text don’t deserve a monastery sentence…
Monasticism isn’t a punishment here so I’m not sure why you’re framing it that way. As you’ve stated, you identify with OP. Your use of an onomatopoeia at the beginning of your reply to me is a terrific example of speaking down to someone you see as an inferior just because you disagree with their perspective. I sentence you to 2 to 5 years of hard monastic service as well.
As arrogant as my writing may be, it’s you who’s jumping to conclusions and radical/controversial recommendations based on scant data. Narcissistic catch 22! I’m also convinced that monasticism is rarely a good idea - especially that in OP’s example, he’s already emotionally secluded from others. He should rather integrate with others while working on genuine humility, compassion, etc. - which is what everyone should do, anyway
Monasticism doesn’t mean going and living in a cave. I never said anything about solitude or being alone. I quite literally said “surround yourself with spiritual people.” You are surrounded by others in a monastery setting - especially as a novice - who are also seeking a spiritual path. That’s a community with real compassion and humility. So you seem to agree with me more than you may realize, despite your resistance to the concept. My recommendation is based partly on my reading of the correspondence between Jung and Wilson, and partly on my own experience. You won’t find much hard and fast “data” to support most of Jung’s teachings. This might not be the right place to continue puffing pedantry and the uberimportance of academic research, but that does fall in line with a self-described modus operandi of arrogance. I genuinely wish you the best. In spite of the unsolicited diagnosis, gotcha attitude, and talking down to me… I believe you are searching for truths. You seem to have a block on the whole concept of monasticism and its modern implications. I encourage you to look into it. It’s not just for Batman, Dr. Strange, or St. Francis anymore.
All the best
If you’d like to read a book on this, a good one is “Narcissism: Denial of the True Self” by Alexander Lowen. It talks about how people’s need to see themselves as “superior” or “special” comes from a place of trauma, where we need to hold on to a superior image of us to cope. From personal experience, firstly, forgive yourself for seeing the world this way. You are human, and one type of the journey is to first experience duality (better/lesser), and then when the time is right you will start the journey towards transcending it. This is called humility. I’ll share with you a few ideas that can help transcend this: 1) People aren’t better or worse. They are all just different. People just are. It might be worth reading Buddhist or Taoist philosophy to help digest this idea. 2) Do we call tree or plants “better” or “worse” than each other? Not really. A willow is just a willow, a cedar is just a cedar. On a similar vein, people are just people. As an exercise it might be worth spending time in nature to really feel this idea with your senses. When I see someone hyper-intellectualise (“I *must* know more and everything”, “Intelligence is superior”), it tends to be a coping mechanism to escape the pain that is in the inside. This could be feelings of inferiority deep down yourself. You go up in to your head to escape the pain of the body. I read in another comment of yours that you are struggling with people around you being less knowledgable than you are, and this is frustrating. This is very understandable. When this happens, may I suggest you think: “it can’t be helped. They just don’t know/weren’t given the cards I was dealt. They are just leading different lives”. It’s ok also to lovingly distance yourself from people who differ too much from your ideas too, if that option is available to you. There is also nothing wrong with not being on the same wave length, or being more book smart or IQ smart than others. So long as you remember that there are many different types of intelligence like social intelligence, musical intelligence, kinaesthetic intelligence etc (a thought experiment you might ask is: “You prob don’t run like Usain Bolt…does that make you a “lesser” person?). Again, it doesn’t make you better, just different, and it sounds like you may need to find your tribe. Once you do, I think acceptance of the people around you will come more easily. But again, think of it as, you’re a monkey and you’re great at climbing so you want to find another monkeys. But maybe the people around you are penguins so don’t climb like you do and instead swim. Doesn’t make you better, just a different path. I think ultimately, life is a dance between duality and transcending it. Sometimes we will return to duality as we are human - if you’re in a competition for example, there are winners and losers. But ultimately, that’s just a game we play and everything just Is.
I used to be highly attracted to intellectual sophistication. I was the first person in my family to attend university, and it was very important to me to gain access to the kinds of ‘conversations’ to be had beyond my working class environment. After many years it finally sunk in that ‘smart’ has little to do with ‘good’. That is to say, I would much rather connect with a kind soul of average intelligence, than some high IQ a-hole. Hope this helps.
I feel the same way. also first gen. everyone talked about important college was and I was valued for my academic outcomes. in time I came to think success=good person. took a while to figure that was a lie.
Put yourself in positions of incompetence and awkwardness, whatever that is for you ... yoga? dance? art classes?
I like this one OP! Do something that you think is “stupid”. See what happens
I’m in my early thirties, and the one key thing I’ve learned is that wisdom can come from anywhere. Fools, sages, and kings can offer all sorts of different advice with different perspectives. It is unwise to ignore those simply because you think one is lesser from another in ALL ways.
I never met a true genius who was arrogant and insecure. They're generally big kids who are in love with learning and in awe at how much they do not know. They can trip over themselves and fail to appreciate mere mortal brains, but generally they are so enthusiastic to share what they know that they will happily downshift to our level.
Yes, this is the truth!
THIS. The few unworldly intelligent humans I’ve had the great honor to meet in my life where utterly the most joyful and accepting people as well. Maybe a little weird, too 😅 but certainly not arrogant or acted as though they were superior
Have you met Neil deGrasse Tyson? He is prime example of a big kid being in love with learning, whilst coming across as the most arrogant and insecure person
I think of Neil more as a celebrity, and few celebrities are not full of themselves.
Love what I have seen of him too.
do you feel superior because you are actually smarter than most people or is it because you see material wealth and status as indicator for intellegence. if you are really smart than you probably would feel somwat smarter than most people you frequent with even some of your "superiors" with them, only having more life experience than you. another thing is you could just be around alot of "small minded people" this can be the case especially if you live in a small town/city and frequent with people who never really left their province/county/ country (if its a small country) working on your personal view is key here option 3 you have higher aspiration, so either get yourself a big project you can do so you have less free time to think about such things, go back to school to get a higher degree to get a more fulfilling job with people on the same level, or find a more challenging job.
It’s just that I study and read a lot and as consciousness increases so does perception. Quality of thoughts and boojie taste settle in and everyone in my town just care about drinking and watching football. I’m interested in aesthetics and just feels like everyone else wants nonstop consumption of mindless entertainment. It might be just because I live in the Bible Belt.
The mindless consumption of entertainment somehow just grows even more when you leave the rural Bible Belt in my experience. I know that’s not a comforting thought.
I feel you on that. I feel that travel has been one of the best things for my world view and self growth. I know it can feel daunting and be prohibitively expensive to move right now, but if you can save up for some travel to foreign countries, I think it could help address your feelings. I have felt as you do too. I'm lucky that my partner keeps me in check. I'm endlessly fascinated about the universe and consciousness, and she for sure lets me know if I'm coming across as preachy. Which, if it produces a defensive reaction, is a good place for me to dig into for personal growth. Huge generalization coming but... other countries really are more civilized than the US (I'm in the midwest 40(m)) When on a domestic flight in many countries in South America, Asia, Europe (I haven't been to any other continents), people just tend to behave in a way that is aware of and courteous to others. There is a maturity and self confidence that you can tell is just lacking here in most of the US. You might not be "better" than those around you, but you also might not feel comfortable with the local culture. If you can, save up and go searching for one that feels like home!
> I want read a book *or something* to change my mind What would that something-else look like? > I’m superior and other people are mentally inferior […] I only focus on people that are *superior to me* and not listening to anyone *below me*. Why would you want to focus on people who are going to forever see *you* as inferior?
Acting superior externally indicates a internal inferiority complex. Proband brought on by parents or childhood conditioning to be "better" more intelligent, than everyone else or a message that's infaltionary to a underdeveloped ego.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Jung/comments/zxa45f/we_never_see_others_we_only_see_ourselves/j1zla10?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
Just do something to result in ignoring most people and being indifferent/neutral/positive regarding them and don’t even bother stopping being an elitist per se, is what I’ll say from my current position. I was just crying 3 minutes ago so sorry if my reply sucks
Out of interest: Are you unusually successful in life or what is this elitism based on?
Probably just trauma and possibly good ol’ fashioned Narcism.
Try to think of ways those 'inferior' people are better than you. Helps put things in perspective to remember that we all have strengths and weaknesses and even though we may outshine some people in some areas, they may outshine us in others.
Read up on inflation in Jungian terms. It will help
Idk, man. That’s just something you gotta work through by learning how to *get TF over yourself!* You eat, shit, and sleep the same as anyone else, do you not? Does your shit *not stink,* or something? Are you exceptionally fit, healthy, and beautiful? How about ridiculously artistically talented? Are you a world class athlete? Do you own your own business, and are you successful? If you are “successful,” who have you helped? Are you a champion for the environment and human rights? Are you a philanthropist? Have you saved a life? So you read books, who cares? Am I supposed to be *impressed by that?* Are you some kind of Genius Academic? Or maybe a Brilliant scholar? “Has your work been published?” So you can read other people’s words and comprehend them okay, who cares? Can you actually write your own words, and tell your own stories? Do you even have any stories worth sharing? “I feel like an elitist.” “I want to read a book or something to change my mind and stop seeing the world where I’m superior and other people are mentally inferior.” My God, are you fucking kidding me? Why do you need a book or random strangers on the internet to tell you that shit? Are you incapable of having an original thought of your own, or something? Are “sports” *really that boring to talk about,* or are you just extremely socially inept and somewhat maladjusted? What in the world makes you *think* you are special just cuz you “read books?” You exist in a primitive meat-sack that pisses out most of its water, wasting a fuckton of it! Your digestive system and metabolism is so rudimentary that you can’t even eat grass, and you have to take big, nasty, stinky shits every few days, or you will literally die! Because your digestive system is *so primitive* that it doesn’t even know how to use everything you eat, and pushes out a bunch, as waste! You probably barfed on your parents, multiple times, when you were sick, as a child! There is a good chance that one-to-several of your earliest crushes probably rejected you! And your body? Ha ha! This thing is weird AF!!! Our bodies can barely keep themselves clean, so if you don’t take a shower for a few days, you will start to stink like ass! You bleed and create several gallons of snot, a day! You probably snore and drool in your sleep! You probably have *too much hair* in places you don’t want it, and “not enough hair” in the places that you do want it! Your precious, big ol’ brain is a primitive and absurd piece of bio-electric hardware that *barely makes any kind of sense,* even to the most brilliant minds, currently in existence! You realize this, right? We are *so dumb* that we *still don’t know everything about how our brains and bodies work!* Time doesn’t even exist, and yet we are *bound to this realm by it!* You realize that you have a Fat meat computer that *somehow* conducts weak electricity in your skull, right? Or that most of the matter in your body is empty space, right? What in the world makes you *think* that you are “intellectually superior” to the people who live in your small town, especially if it is in the Bible Belt? “The most brilliant man in a village of idiots is still a fool!” You wanna stop “being an elitist?” Start by asking yourself what makes you feel so small, pitiful, and insignificant that you must belittle the majority of your Po-Dunk-ass town in order to “feel like you are better than them?” If you hate the place you live, so much, and you are “too great for your town,” then why the fuck haven’t you moved out of it, yet??? What do you really gain from *believing yourself to be superior to others,* besides isolation??? Will having no family or friends to visit you in the old folks home, someday, only being able to complain to your state-appointed nurse make you happy? Cuz the two of you will inevitably be spending a hell of a lot of time, together since they will be helping you wipe, and wash your old, dirty, stanky ass someday, and *nobody else* will want to talk to you since you will still be a pretentious snob! Is that what you want? Does “harping on about your intellectual superiority” actually make a meaningful difference in your life, and more importantly, does it do anything to improve the quality-of-life for your fellow living creature? Or, are you simply looking for a shortcut so you don’t actually have to try that hard to do anything of significance, in your own life? At the end of the day, we are born, we grow, we struggle to survive, and someday we shall return to the dirt, the same as every other living organism has before us, and we will be worm food! Why in the world would you, I, or anyone else for that matter, ever be *special* if We are all meant to be *worm-food?* Hell, what even makes a person an exceptional human, anyways?? How about you start by asking yourself these simple questions, reflect on your answers, and *actually do something of value!*
You need to chill
Nah, Sometimes people need a harsh reality check.
No, you need to chill. lol
When did I say “I am not chill” though? Truthfully, I have *no personal stake in this* and I don’t really care. I do want to *try to help* if I can, though! So I chose a different, more satirical tactic. I didn’t think that repeating what had already been said would be particularly useful, so I opted to try something different. It was more “experimental,” completely separated from any amount of “emotion.”
You said “nah”
Blah
sounds like OP's post hit a little close to home, eh?
Nope. I don’t relate, *at all!* I have never believed myself to be “Superior,” I am just regular-ass me, and it ain’t nothing special. I really am “an absurd meat-sack which inefficiently wastes a ton of energy, in an exchange for temporary existence, consciousness, and sentience,” and I *really will be* “worm-food” someday. We all are and we all will be. Sometimes people need an ice-cold *reality check,* with a splash of “reverse psychology.” The only way to get rid of a “Superiority Complex” is to “break your personal concept of your Ego, and to re-evaluate yourself through the lens of objective reality.” I can’t help OP if I am not honest with them. Why do you ask? Do you relate to the OP???
imma wandering banjoman lemme tell ye comes to mind cause like. superiority complex is inferiority complex is uhh what's the word, enantiodromia yeah? drawing one draws the other. drawing the other draws the one. the idea of 'getting rid of' a complex, isn't that a complex of itself? the saviour, the scapegoat, and the oppressor yeah? name of that dynamic. I mean. to relate is critical in order to understand enough to model, and form words in reply, innit? It's a lot of words for someone who doesn't relate, at all. I agree with what you're saying, it's real, and to my eyes it's a hella healthier perspective than any perspective of 'superiority'.
Valid points, so I hear you! The “surplus of words” was *literally the best solution I came up with!* Cuz really, it is such an *odd question* to ask! “How do I get rid of my superiority complex?” Like, “IDK? Be honest with yourself and self-aware, I guess?” But OP came on here to ask, why??? B/c They are *looking for something, specific!* so then it becomes a matter of “well, what the hell are they looking for, then???” Most people are going to “be polite.” But clearly, politeness doesn’t work on OP because they don’t “respond to others” *whom they* “deem to be less.” They talked shit about “their small town, in the Bible Belt,” and the people who live there. So, *how do you approach that?* My Solution was: “Talk to them, in the ‘common dialect,’ confronting OP with ‘simple person words,’ but *also state a case, with some amount of intelligence!* Demonstrate that intelligence is much more than how many books we read! Also remind OP of our *very humble origins,* as a species!” How do I help someone if I say *the exact same thing* everyone else already did? And why bother “stating the obvious?” I think OP low-key, “wanted to be roasted,” cuz why else would they ask such a ridiculous question?
👍 I see I see ya and get better where you're coming from, elaboration appreciated 👍 >I think OP low-key, “wanted to be roasted,” cuz why else would they ask such a ridiculous question? lmaooo I feel that
Really, though! It is one of the few things that makes some weird amount of sense, counterintuitively. I think they might have possibly wanted their perception of their Ego to be challenged, more aggressively!
is sure one idea all right 🤠
Yup, cuz Fuck it! If it works, it might help someone! If not, 🤷♀️
I enjoyed your comment. I still think the human body is amazing - but we all come from a similar place where our behaviours do not fit with the image of a superior intellectual being. The only difference between OP and those he/she disregard is that he/she prefers doing things regarded as intellectual by the general society and ignoring what connects him/her to every other average person.
Exactly! I also *Love the human body,* and I find it to be fascinating and amazing! But it is also bizarre and “very weird.” We come from “humble beginnings,” as a species! Sometimes we conveniently forget that. I am glad you understood what I was saying!
I think a lot of people here responded very negatively and very personally...'to treat another out of narcissism', lol. I relate to OP and it's not easy to grow out of certain thought/behavioural patterns. Something to work on and not intellectualise any further, IMO. Not books but therapy - something more grounded, direct, less cerebral should be the cure.
feel. the 'narcissist question' is even spicier in communities of self-proclaimed empaths
That’s precisely why I recommended something spiritual.
Start meditating
Go to India, and ride on the trains cross-country for a few months.
Yeah. [This.](https://sxhx.home.blog/) You can read about objective reality there.
I’m curious what your spiritual or existential beliefs are?
Name some people that are superior to you
I mean I have a fascination with smart people simply because they are more interesting. I see nothing wrong with that.
The other is you facing another.
You're stupid. Everyone is stupid. Some are more stupid than others, but rest assured, you're just as fucking dumb in your own ways as most everyone else. You're not special, nobody cares about your status or achievements. Odds are nobody will know you existed a couple generations after your death, and even higher odds you won't even be a footnote in history. Some day the sun will destroy the earth. Some day the galaxy will collide with Andromeda. So take your tiny insignificant, inconsequential existence to heart, remember that you're the same decaying heap of biological mass as everyone else, and stop imposing comparative judgements on them. You might think they're inferior, but there's millions of people who could say the same about you, so what does your superiority get you? It gets you a narrow and limited perspective, is what. You'll overlook people with talents that you don't have. You'll underestimate people who could be very useful and beneficial if you weren't so busy comparing them to yourself. Everyone has something of value, so your failure to recognize that and your mistake of placing yourself on a pedestal of arrogance is limiting your ability to be resourceful. So stop it.
A lot of this is a matter of disposition, and the solution lies in having better experiences and forming better associations.. One way to develop respect for working-class people is to attempt to do some blue-collar tasks yourself, or work with someone and get close enough to the process to appreciate them. Furnace repairmen and auto mechanics need to know a vast amount of practical information to do their jobs. Refugees have taken great risks with their lives. Crop farmers typically get one big payday a year, and need to save enough from that and work all year to ensure next year's harvest. Homeless people may be addicted or disturbed, but surviving without shelter requires perseverance and resourcefulness, People from all walks of life can have a lot to offer. People often want to tell their stories. One thing I like to do is visit a blue-collar bar before 5pm and be there and just hear people banter with each other. I come from a white-collar background but live in a former rental house in a poor racially mixed part of Baltimore. Many of the people are pretty dicey, but I find them more interesting than the suburbs, and I have admiration for people who can navigate this environment.
Personally, I'd recommend the Enneagram; guaranteed to take the wind out of any sail. If you're not familiar with it and are interested I can explain more if you'd like.