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It’s normal and healthy to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You’ll show up to work with a new shirt one day, to the compliments of those around you.
Then, just when others thought the show was over, you’ll bust out your new coffee mug. For the purpose of this article, showing, and showing off should be differentiated. It is fine to show the things you’re proud of, however, be careful of showing your pride along with them. We typically forget to think about the effects that are birthed from prideful showings of our success. Below are two things to keep in mind when you’ve attained something which you’re proud of and is likely to attract attention.
They’ll Want a Piece of What You Have
As the shower of compliments and the stream of likes online begin to fizzle out, inquiries into the process of attaining what you have will come about. We are proud of the things that are generally difficult to attain. Whether it be making it to grad school or being able to afford to buy a summer cottage, our most prideful achievements are typically fruits of strenuous labor. When others notice your achievements, they’ll be reminded of the difficult times you must’ve been through to achieve the things you have. If what you’ve attained is attractive in their eyes, they’ll have nothing to lose by asking how you managed to achieve those things.
We know shortcuts come far and few between. This doesn’t stop us from going for the Hail Mary and attempting to discover secret doors and hidden treasures. People will inquire into how you managed to achieve what you show off – in an effort to gain insight for themselves. Before being prideful of the things you’ve managed to attain, remember this one tendency your audience will exhibit. Once they pose their questions, you’ll be faced with some difficult decisions which you need to make.
First, you need to accept the fact that you’ll likely need to provide an answer. It’s difficult to ignore those who compliment us on our achievements and who then follow with a question in an effort to make personal gains themselves. You’ll be expected to reciprocate the kindness that they show in acknowledging your prideful possessions and achievements. Next, you’ll need to decide how much of your recipe you’re willing to give away. This decision is trickier to make. You may have prevailed in a domain which is sensitive to competition, so exposing your methods may serve to hurt you.
Be Prepared to Teach Them How to Fish but Not Clear the Pond
The most advisable approach in answering the question of how much information you should hand out, floats in the waters of balance. Allow your listener to take something back with them in their efforts for discovering a shortcut, but don’t give them the full recipe if it hinders your own success. Taking this approach will motivate them to continue being friendly in their support for your achievements, but also maintain your competitive advantage in the domains within which you compete. You’ll always be susceptible to disappointing those who inquire into how you’ve managed to find success. This disappointment, combined with resentment and envy, can manifest itself into uncontrollable consequences.
There will be other instances, such as getting a new cool shirt, when this predicament wouldn’t matter. In these cases, you merely have to put up with the fact the more desire-able your shirt is, the more inquiries into where you got it will come about. This isn’t a big deal with trivial items such as shirts and coffee mugs. However, as you venture on to show off bigger, better things, your privacy may be placed at risk.
Prior to exposing your successes to the world around you, be confident in your skills in navigating these realms. Be prepared for people to inquire into the specifics of the methodology you followed to attain your prized possessions. Know the general direction you’ll take in answering those questions, and understand that some of the consequences to showing off cannot be controlled.
You don’t have to hide your achievements from the world, just remain humble as they’re displayed. Humility will lessen the perceived importance of your achievements and fewer people will express desire to attain the things you have.