Laws of Human Nature by Robert Geene– The Law Of Grandiosity

We have a tendency to think we’re important and superior. When we achieve some form of success, we ignore that luck may have played a part in it or that others may have helped us get there. This can lead to irrational decisions and our success won’t last. Move away from grandiosity by accepting your limits.

Persuading others to help you is difficult but not impossible. If you see this as something simple though, you won’t have the patience necessary to achieve what you want. On top of that, you’ll see the people who want to help you as malleable and predictable. The difference between the two scenarios is that in the former, you’re realistic, but in the latter, you feel like you deserve things. When you feel entitled and godlike, we call this grandiosity. Understand that grandiosity is part of human nature, recognize its signs, and identify these signs in yourself to channel that energy more productively.

Grandiose people grow up pampered and spoiled. Their need to be adored manifests in everything they do. They manipulate and constantly look for attention. Grandiose individuals think they’re better than others.

Nowadays, there’s more grandiosity than ever before. There are a lot of pampered individuals, a lot of people don’t have respect for authority, and technology has become so fast and simple, that people believe that everything in life is that way. The place where you’ll find more grandiosity is social media because it lets anyone get the attention of millions of people.

To see the levels of grandiosity in someone, see how they behave when you criticize them. Extreme emotions are a sign of grandiosity. They talk a lot, but they’re not good listeners. It’s difficult to captivate their attention, they’re impatient, their gestures are dramatic, their voices are loud, and they talk fast because they don’t like being interrupted. The antidote to grandiosity is having a realistic attitude.

Grandiose people have a natural inclination to become leaders. They mesmerize people to the point that followers are unable to see the irrational decisions they make. Grandiose leaders are usually destructive. They create six illusions:

They think they’re destined for greatness
They present themselves as average
They promise to fix problems for others
They give the impression that rules don’t apply to them
They pretend to have never failed
They are vulnerable
We’re all capable of grandiosity. It lets us think we’re better and more superior than we are. We call this fantastical grandiosity because it’s based on fantasies. There’s another form called practical grandiosity. This one’s difficult to achieve because it’s based on reality and we use it to achieve goals or improve relationships.

Here are five principles to achieve practical grandiosity:

Be honest and admit you want to be the center of attention
Channel that energy into a single project that’s achievable in the short term
Instead of letting your imagination take over, accept feedback and criticism
Constantly look for challenges above your current skill level
Once you control your grandiose energy, let it take over and accept bigger challenges