Greetings all and first up let's say thank you to Anna, Louise, Jo, Brittany, Helen, Roni and Sarah for coming along and reading my thoughts yesterday and commenting, loving, sharing away. As always it is very much appreciated and great to see a couple of new readers here too. Do spread the word if you like the content as us writers face an uphill battle in the infinite number of infinite memes out there. To actually read something these days is a bit of a rarity and kudos to you for taking the time to do so.
Where do my thoughts take me today? Well, no doubt you're probably digesting that rather arrogant statement about the word hubris. It is a great word in my opinion but to be the greatest of all time may be a bit of a stretch. For those who are unaware hubris is defined as having overbearing self confidence or exaggerated pride. It's often the case that leaders will have this quality and celebrities. The society we now dwell in rewards such actions and to be quiet and merely plod on with your life is seen as a sign of shallow ambition or shrivelled persona who hasn't much to offer.
Look back and probably the greatest exponent of hubris was the late great Muhammad Ali. He used hubris to propel himself from a supremely talented athlete into a leader, inspirational figure, champion and someone of great controversy. He used his persona to undermine his opponents and you see his legacy with subsequent boxers trying to imitate his braggadocio to a far lesser effect. He was a truly amazing individual who certainly left his mark.
You see it in the modern world in workplaces and when you listen to many who speak it is a case of I, I, Me, Yes, I'm going to... and so forth. This arrogance has been propagated for many years and you wonder how we got to this position. The case of empathy and care for anyone else has disappeared into the silence due to the onslaught of hubris. However, we all need a bit of hubris if we are to push ourselves but as with everything it's a case of balance and the seesaw of existence firmly has hubris bouncing off the lighter emotions into the ionosphere.
So, the question is how do we find that balance with dear old hubris. In my humble opinion it is a case of seeing where we find ourselves feeling smug, or self righteous and think oh I could have done it so much better than that. Here is our dear old friend asserting their influence and hubris does love a bit of assertiveness. Perhaps in this scenario we need to pop that ego balloon and just rein things in.
Conversely if we find ourselves shrinking into the background and sit back whilst others decorate the interior with their badinage perhaps we could invite hubris to step forward. Always remember though the old saying : Pride comes before a fall. For though we may need a bit of hubris now and then we must also recognise that we must be authentic to ourselves.
For example, if I suddenly started blurting out I am the greatest Reiki healer in the country, I would quite rightly get people turning away in their droves at this foolish terminology. For me, such words make me feel rather nauseous about working with such an individual and goodness how I would set myself up for a very big tumble. Pride would shatter into a menagerie of ego chips that none would care to reassemble.
So here it is. The challenge. Find your balance in a way that suits you. Recognise your own hubris, love and embrace it but whatever you do, don't let it run the show known as you. Until next I type.
Adieu
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