So a conclusion about people that I've sort of dredged up over the span of this blog is that everyone needs to be liked/appreciated, and a substantial amount of human behavior stems from this need.
There are times when this need is intensified by deep-rooted insecurity, or stupid hormonal pride, and the result is egotism.
Egotism, when used here, is an individual's all-consuming obsession with making him or herself believe that people like or respect them. It results in the individual's "status" being the most important thing to them, at the unhealthy expense of other, more wholesome parts of life.
The interesting part is the different ways in which egotism manifests itself. From what I've seen, you can either be a "dominant egotist" or a "submissive egotist".
Dominant egotists are the ones most people associate with the concept of ego, because they're the most easy to spot. Dominant egotists (domegos) feed their ego by trying to obtain adoration from a following of passive/submissive types; weedier friends, young/impressionable girlfriends, etc. These are people who fit naturally into leadership roles, and could be very good at leading people; but ego takes over, and the domego sees leadership as a way of drawing egofuel from their friends. They find security through being in a dominant position.
Submissive egotists (subegos) are found among sidekicks, hanger-ons, co-dependents. Subegos fuel their ego from the appreciation of people they see as stronger and more dominant. Generally, this is the kind of egotism fueled by insecurity, which means they need a leader, someone to look after them. Whereas domegos draw ego-fuel from a large group of people, subegos tend to focus their efforts on one person they see as "ideal", or possibly a few more.
It's important to remember that no kind of egotism is an innate/permanent/natural characteristic. It's a phase. Something created by certain environmental conditions which the egotist must work to overcome, and will overcome, nearly all of the time. I'm inclined to believe that pretty everyone goes through a time when they could be considered an egotist.
And, yeah, that's it.
There are times when this need is intensified by deep-rooted insecurity, or stupid hormonal pride, and the result is egotism.
Egotism, when used here, is an individual's all-consuming obsession with making him or herself believe that people like or respect them. It results in the individual's "status" being the most important thing to them, at the unhealthy expense of other, more wholesome parts of life.
The interesting part is the different ways in which egotism manifests itself. From what I've seen, you can either be a "dominant egotist" or a "submissive egotist".
Dominant egotists are the ones most people associate with the concept of ego, because they're the most easy to spot. Dominant egotists (domegos) feed their ego by trying to obtain adoration from a following of passive/submissive types; weedier friends, young/impressionable girlfriends, etc. These are people who fit naturally into leadership roles, and could be very good at leading people; but ego takes over, and the domego sees leadership as a way of drawing egofuel from their friends. They find security through being in a dominant position.
Submissive egotists (subegos) are found among sidekicks, hanger-ons, co-dependents. Subegos fuel their ego from the appreciation of people they see as stronger and more dominant. Generally, this is the kind of egotism fueled by insecurity, which means they need a leader, someone to look after them. Whereas domegos draw ego-fuel from a large group of people, subegos tend to focus their efforts on one person they see as "ideal", or possibly a few more.
It's important to remember that no kind of egotism is an innate/permanent/natural characteristic. It's a phase. Something created by certain environmental conditions which the egotist must work to overcome, and will overcome, nearly all of the time. I'm inclined to believe that pretty everyone goes through a time when they could be considered an egotist.
And, yeah, that's it.
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