When Faced With Arrogance, Consider This…

Next time you are faced with arrogance, I want to invite you to ponder the notion that arrogance is nothing more than insecurity masquerading as confidence.

What do I mean by that? Well, to understand what I mean, let’s look at the definition of each of those words:

Arrogance is defined as, “An offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride”.

Confidence is defined as, “ belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance”.

So, the keyword and the main differentiation between these two definitions is offensive.

When someone is being offensive, their nervous systems are in a fight or flight response.

What causes someone’s nervous system to go into a fight or flight response? An actual or perceived threat.

What emotion results from an actual or perceived threat? Fear.

And that fear can be expressed in a variety of ways, including being loud, boisterous, offensive, etc.

To offer an example of this, it has been said that when you find yourself in a close encounter with a bear, that you should act as big, loud, and boisterous as possible, even though you’re sh*tting your pants.

So, when I am faced with arrogance, all I see is fear.

Because true confidence does not have to be force fed; it naturally exudes from someone in such a way that it can’t helped but be witnessed by those around them.

xoxo

photo credit: steve johnson