Human Behavior November 19, 2022

The Pride of Not Being the Smartest

The Pride of Not Being the Smartest

Being around people who are smarter than you can be intimidating. Their presence makes you feel like a loser in the group. How uncomfortable.

Like most people, you then resort to surround yourself with others who are at least the same as or worse than you. This way, you can always feel like a winner.

Social proximity effect makes you mirror the habits of those you spend the most time with.

Would you rather be uncomfortable with being the loser in a group, but have the opportunity to adopt the discipline, healthy habit, and self-motivation of those smarter than you? Or feel distinguished, but risk adopting the procrastination habit, binge-eating routine, and sedentary lifestyle of those lesser than you?

You may also like...

The Perfectionists Trap

The notion that producing every result perfectly is necessary to be successful is gaining credence. People...

Shyness

We often choose to stay timid because we don't want to disturb people. If you are...

It All Adds Up

We have been witnessing many unforeseen changes in life. We wondered why our children suddenly became...

Elevated Price of Emotion

When we are bereft of something, that thing becomes more valuable to us.  You are willing...