Cockiness

Seems like I've been confronted with a lot of cockiness lately. This is always interesting to me, because, as humans, we have very little to be cocky about. Our imperfections speak so much louder than anything we excel at as individuals. Yet, every one of us have periods in which we over-inflate our own importance. It's an interesting dynamic, really. I mean, without self confidence, you really can't accomplish much...all your talents and gifts lie dormant and aren't fully realized until you have the confidence to use them. Yet, when we become cocky, we diminish our ability to relate to others in a meaningful way, thereby limiting the impact our gifts and talents can have on others. Not only that, cockiness places way too much value on one talent over another, and, results in egocentrism...one of the biggest inhibitors of true dialogic communication. There isn't a human being on earth that possesses all the talents and gifts necessary to be truly superior (perfection is absolutely unattainable, so, the best anyone can strive for is superiority...it's up to that individual to decide how important that goal is)...yet this tends to be what most strive for...superiority-in some form or another. This becomes complicated by the fact that what it means to be "superior" is socially and culturally constructed...based on the values of each culture. This necessarily leads to an incomplete and fragmented notion of what it means to be superior...

Another factor here is that when humans struggle towards this "superiority", one common by product of this is the desire to make others feel inferior (we define ourselves in terms of what we aren't)...So, in order to feel superior, others must be perceived as inferior...this framework leads to inhibiting others in the sharing of their talents and gifts (inferiority can lead to a lack of self confidence...leading to a failure to develop and share your talents and gifts). So, really, cockiness can be seen almost as a sort of social cannibalism...when someone moves beyond self confidence into cockiness, they contribute to the creation and perpetuation of another's sense of inferiority. Certainly they aren't solely responsible for another's sense of self, but, we all impact one another's idea of self. Identity is a communicative negotiation with others.

At any rate, cockiness sucks. It's important to find that healthy balance...which changes at different points in our lives.