Category: the Rant Board
It pisses me off to see people with such big egos. And when they're true dickheads, it makes it worse. I can't change them, but when they get their asses kicked, I can't show sympathy to them. If your ego is larger than your ass (speaking metaphorically), then you have issues.
Your thoughts, experiences?
LOL First of all, great subject line!
I have met a lot of people with huge egos. THE interesting thing to me is that often those with the biggest egos have the least to brag about, and those who would have every right to brag if they wanted to turn out to be very humble people. I also have found that often people with large egos never accept the fact that they can do anything wrong. If someone doesn't like them, they think it's the other person's problem. Even if just about everyone they meet can't stand them, it's never their fault. THEY never take responsibility for how people respond to them and their egos. It's got to be that there is something wrong with these other people.
Ego is a two-edged sword. True, it can make you a dick, and people don't like egotism. But on the other hand, you have to have some ego. Very very few shy and reserved people have changed the world. You think you can be president without an ego? You think you can lead a civil rights movement without an ego? No, you can't. You can fake it, but you can't actually do it.
Plus, one thing that is often not mentioned in discussions like this. A lot of the time, that person who is being egotistical is right. So if you want to defeat egotism, educate yourself, form opinions, and defeat them on their own terms. Don't expect everyone to stoop to your level just because you think they should. Not everyone wants to be quiet. Some people like to be seen and heard, and its up to you how you want to receive that.
You get way farther if you aren't shy. I used to be shy when I was younger. I never asked questions and went along with the flow. Once I broke out of that I've gotten farther. I haven't been right sometimes, but I wouldn't have learned if I kept to myself. In fact, when I did I figured whatever others said was right, and I rarely put together my own opinions because I didn't want to be wrong. That was a big mistake though. I'm sure I followed people who didn't have it right either, but I didn't stand up and tell them what I thought even if I thought they were wrong.
I agree that you need an ego to be successful in life. However, I see the point made by the original poster simply because I have met many people who are jerks, wrong about almost everything, and have huge egos. SO it is important to judge each person on an individual basis and determine whether they are all talk or whether they have a right to their huge ego.
My stepdad has had an ego for the five years I have known him. Holy shit, the military pampers people! Why? The huge amounts of pay they get just makes them to be true dicks! Not all, but some. Why? Because they've gotten it in their heads that they are the gods of America, which, in a sense they are. But seriously, you have to take it far enough to be a dickwad to everyone else? You may be big and badass at your military job, but you must know that you are not as high as you think just you put a bullet through a Taliban's head. Shape up, militants!
I agree with those who say that having an ego is a good thing, and I'll take it a step further. if you wanna be successful in life, you have to not only know what you have to offer a potential partner, or employer, but show them. I mean, seriously, if you aren't confident in yourself, and how sexy you are, how can you expect anyone else to be?
The military changes people, some for better and some for worse. You have to think about what they go through. Did he serve in any serious battles? Some aren't good at handling powerful positions though and don't deserve them.
Ches, you are true when you say that you need an ego to be successful. But there is an extent that you must control your ego.
Ryan, he served in the shit in Africa years back.
Putting a bullet in someone's head doesn't make you better than anyone else. I think there's something other than ego that's wrong with that mentality. In a kill-or-be-killed situation, you do what you have to do. But to be proud of it, and to say you're better than people who haven't killed someone? Man, I sincerely hope you were exaggerating when you said that, because if not, well, like I said, it's not just his ego that's bigger than his ass.
An ego only has merrit if the person to whom it belongs knows how to carry him or herself, and does so with actions rather than words. Often, the term ego has negative connotations because when we think: "he has a big ego", we usually mean "he's an asshole, a know-it-all, and therefore, ultimately a loser in his own right." I think that being quiet and listless in what you do gets you know where, but when you're right about something, you can compell people to believe it if you choose to show that you're right rather than say it over and over again. I hate when people talk out of their asses just to be heard. I hate when people try to convince someone they're right when in fact, they have no idea what there is to be right about.
Ego, in the positive light, means that someone feels good about himself but doesn't intentionally throw it in the face of others without purpose. It's good to believe in yourself, to have great self esteem, even to show people that maybe you might be better off then them once in a while to make a point, but you accomplish more when you do it within context and make it purposeful. We all hate the braggard who is right, always, knows more than anyone else, has to influence everything and everyone, even if he is right most of the time. Shyness doesnt' get you far, but a little humility earns you points where integrity is concerned. Who's the bigger hero, the one who goes around telling stories of how he saved a little girl from a huge fire or the guy who jumps into the thick of it without saying a word. Nuff said.
I agree. It's not an excuse, but it is hard for me to say because I never served in a major war. I'd like to think it wouldn't make me go crazy or treat people differently, but I'm sure that's what a lot of people who did said before they went to war.
Yeah, probably. But to actually be proud of any casualties you've caused? That's way overboard. Most people who served in a war are traumatized by it, or at least are humbled by it. They don't talk about the experience often.
My dad was glad he got to shoot the enemy.
Ok, so there are exceptions to every rule, I guess.
I used to wish that I could be an infantry officer in the Marine Corps, but thankfully I never did. You have to realize, they tell you where you go, where they need you, and you do your duty. If that means you kill people that's your job. After I heard that I was seriously glad I was unable to go, because that is far different than serving for the good of the country.
How is that different than serving for the good of the country? You kill people because they are the enemy, not because its buckets of fun! have some respect for our military and all they do for us for once!