It seems to me that the more people talk to you about a
quality they have, the less of it they actually do. Think about people you have met at parties, who try to impress you by going on at length about
themselves. Often, what they say is entirely false, a girl who goes on for ages about her
compassion and
love for humanity is likely a stuck up
bitch who could walk past a
beggar in 150$ shoes without giving him a
dime.
The same goes for those who
boast of their
intellect, their
wealth, the
awfulness of their lives,
etc. People do this because they are trying to make themselves
believe they have the
quality they are boasting of; even while they know they are
stupid or
cruel or
dull they try to cover it up with belief
borrowed from the people they boast to.
This can be seen on larger scales too. Company
mission statements, or in Canada - the
'distinct society' of
Quebec. Think of
Goths, all
rabidly screaming about their
individuality.
We all do this, we all
lie to
ourselves to cover up our bad spots, we say "well, I never liked
math" or "it's too early in the
morning for me to
think". We all try to cover ourselves, and
occasionally we believe our own
lies. But we cannot
improve ourselves this way. To put it bluntly:
We cannot grow and become better at what we suck at, unless we realize we suck.
I know that this has been said
before, but it never really
hit me until I thought through this, so I hope it
helps someone else too.