Is it normal to be unable to balance one's ego?

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I have a big ego. Not unusual in and of itself. However, I am almost completely unable to balance it.

Somebody asks me if I can write well. I have no idea what to tell them. If I write something, I find it an exquisite piece if literature, unrivaled by even the Bard himself. But I also know that I'm somewhat egotistical, therefore most of it is probably not quite as grand as I perceive it to be. I have no idea how good it actually is, objectively, because I wrote it, and I am awesome.

What this person ends up getting is a shrug.

Similarly, I am a charming, handsome, witty, intelligent, cultured man with a magnificent speaking voice, and overall, I am the greatest goddamn person you'll ever meet.

I can't tell you if any of that is true because I honestly don't know. I don't know how well I can draw, write, sing, dance, or act, I don't know how attractive or charismatic I am. I've figured out that I'm pretty smart, mostly due to the fact that I usually lose people in conversation after the second polysyllabic word, but that's more or less the extent of my discoveries.

IIN?

Is It Normal?
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Comments ( 12 ) Sort: best | oldest
  • dappled
    12 years ago | pl

    I don't think that's egotism. It's delusion. If you genuinely believe your output is better than Shakespeare's, how do you reconcile the fact that the world's publishers aren't rushing for your signature? While I agree it's a matter of balance and perspective, even those are subjective, which is why I gave the example above because it's a question of logic. There is no real wiggle room.

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    • [Old Memory]
      12 years ago | pl

      Maybe the world's publishers wouldn't know talent if it shot them in the gut?

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      12 years ago | pl

      I know I'm not THAT good, because of that example. However, I also know I'm not the worst writer ever, because I've received quite a few positive critiques.

      The problem is that I can't tell what point I'm at in the middle, because my judgement is so biased towards myself. The only way I can get a vague idea as to its actual quality is to ask a lot of different people.

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      • dappled
        12 years ago | pl

        Yeah, I get what you mean. I occasionally (very occasionally) ask for feedback on what I've written but as the person you ask is liable to be an acquaintance, how much feeling-sparing is going on?

        There should be an "AmIHotOrNot?"-type site for writing where where strangers vote you from 0-10 and you get an aggregated score. It could work for anything creative; photography, drawing, art, poetry, music. Business idea for you there, TheManagement. And if you don't do it, I may well just do it myself. You could tie it in with publishers as the public have already said they like something. Publishers like safe bets.

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  • BfingIToucher
    12 years ago | pl

    I think you're doing this because someone truly bruised your ego long ago.

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  • [Old Memory]
    12 years ago | pl

    you lucky bastard :)

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  • Ldizzy1234
    12 years ago | pl

    Hahaha! This sounds like a lot of guys I know.

    I think you should take some time to concentrate on other people. See their good qualities/talents. Make yourself realize that they can be just as great, and that sometimes they might even be better then you.

    Its good to have confidence in yourself, but don't think too highly of yourself, as you are putting the people around you down. Remember, you're not the only one in this world. You're not a king or God or something. You're like any other human, and you are talented and smart too, but you don't want people seeing you as a pompous asshole.

    Do a self reflection, and work on having a more understanding nature of yourself, and other people. Think of the reasons why you think you're like an inch from perfection. Maybe you're just surrounded by no competition. If you like to sing, do talent shows or something like that. See who wins. Then you'll know if you really are as great as you always thought you were. If you think, you're great at writing. Enter some kind of competition, and see if you get an award. Just compete more. People will tell you if you're good or not.

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  • FocoUS
    12 years ago | pl

    You're silly.

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  • [Old Memory]
    12 years ago | pl

    Everything you said is true. You are the greatest goddamn person I've ever met.

    (To everyone else) No, I did not write this story.

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    • [Old Memory]
      12 years ago | pl

      Hahahaha sure you didn't ;)

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      • [Old Memory]
        12 years ago | pl

        The author of the story implied that he talked to people. I never talk to people. There's your proof.

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  • katarn
    12 years ago | pl

    I lol'd at the sheer insanity of this! Go on a showcase website and put an example of your work on there. Don't put a description, an introduction to it, nothing. Let your work speak for itself and see what reviews it gets. For writing try http://www.fanfiction.net, for drawing try deviantart.com and for singing try youtube. Good luck mate :)

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