The Benefits of Being an Egotistical Jerk
Webster’s Dictionary defines an “egotist” as a selfish, self-centered person.
Initially, these characteristics sound like they should be avoided at all costs. After all, who wants to be the mean, selfish, guy in the room that nobody likes talking to?
I say that there is a time and place for everything and using these characteristics in the right way can help you save time, save money, and gain an edge in your life.
First off, for the remainder of this article, I’d like to redefine “egotistical” to mean “confident, proud, secure, and ambitious”. These personality traits are usually contained within the egotist, but our goal is to do away with the “selfish and self-centered” portion of that definition and focus on confidence and pride.
Why would I want to be “egotistical”?
There are many reasons. A few are:
(1) Success: Chetan Chopra,. Ph.D. writes that “Nothing succeeds like confidence. When you truly and justifiably confident, it radiates from you like sunlight, and attracts success to you like magnet.” Have you ever seen a successful person who didn’t look confident? The two go hand in hand.
(2) Love Life: It’s a fact of life that both men and women like to be around people who are confident. It makes them feel more confident, more productive, just better in general. We’ve all heard the adages “Nice guys finish last,” and “Women like the bad boys,” and although this may be true, it’s not necessarily because women like bad boys. It’s because women like confident men. The same goes for men, but it may be more discrete. In order to really shine in “the dating market”, a portrayal of an air of confidence without the “bad-boy attitude” may work all the better. Be the guy that she wants and can take home to mom and pop with no worries.
(3) Satisfaction: In many cases, when you want something, someone else wants something from the same equation. I like to think of it like a teeter-totter. If you are up, the other guy is down and vice versa. So why shouldn’t you be the “up-guy”? You are good enough for it, you are deserving of it. Take it. Confidence and pride will help you win many arguments make you that “up-guy” more frequently.
Ok, Ok, but what can I do to become more “egotistical”?
When you are confident, it shows. Our goal is the ability to show confidence even when we are not confident.
This ability comes from the pride half of the re-definition. Tell yourself multiple times daily that you are better than the next guy. Don’t just think you are, KNOW you are.
Here are some methods to accomplish this:
(1) Reflection: Take a few minutes each day to sit back and look at your projects, your accomplishments and compare them to the next guy. Tell yourself you are smarter, faster, more productive, a quicker learner, nicer, better looking, anything you can think of.
(2) Learn Something New: So many people do the bare minimum in their lives. They do only what is necessary to get to the next day. These are the people that will never amount to anything. Get ambitious. Nothing is better for your confidence than to know you are ambitious. Try learning something new daily. When you are in a meeting or conversation and someone mentions a new piece of technology or book, make a mental or physical note and when you have some free time, read the Wikipedia page on it. It’ll take you 2 or 3 minutes and now you’ll have a slew of knowledge for the next time that topic comes up.
(3) Exercise: Now this doesn’t mean you have to go for a 2 mile run everyday or start benching 200lbs. Try to make time 3-4 times a week to get to the gym or go for a jog for 30 minutes. You’ll sleep better, feel more awake during working hours, and just feel overall revitalized. This, in turn, will make you feel more confident in your body and mind, thus, making your actions seem more confident.
In general, how you feel about yourself will show and have a direct influence on everyone around you. Good Luck!
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[...] The benefits of being an egotistical jerk No one wants to be the selfish, self-centered jerk that nobody talks to. However, there are certain cases wherein the confidence, pride, and ambition that comes from being a jerk can come in handy. Find out how and when to use these characteristics to g Submitted: 4 minutes ago Category: Entertainment Submitter: RssFeed Website: http://www.personadev.com Report this link: Click here to report Comments: 0 [...]