Average people have a love-hate relationship with excellence, success*.
It's OK. I have found myself thinking this way too.
On one hand, you want to be excellent. You also want all the benefits that the Atlases, world-changers, elite bring. We like to see them succeed, become inspired. On the other hand, the average person does not want them to be too good. Some would say that people secretly want to watch them fail. And usually, one doesn't see the effort, risks required to be excellent.
Examples.
Income inequality. More than race, gender, income inequality gets people up faster than ever. Why? Because every other kind of human categorization boils down to this - resource inequality. We want each other to do well. But people, organizations who do way too well begin to stir resentment.
Edward Snowden. How many people have you encountered, when asked
"what do you think about Edward Snowden?",
answer,
"Well, not much of a difference, really. Snowden must have thought he was doing something spectacular, revolutionary, great...but so what? Where is he now...hiding in Russia? He must be feeling rather stupid now."
4. Four citizens.
Snowden may well be one case to my observation.
Firstly, people see him as one who rocked the boat. He made the headlines, made a fool of the people and secret organizations us (let's be honest here) mere mortals fear.
Secondly, people see him as one who did not really benefit them. Try this.
Snowden vs Torvalds. Snowden vs Zuckerberg. Snowden vs Obama. Snowden vs Jobs/Gates.
Who's benefited the world more?
People are prone to this kind of bias. To speak out against something most people do not (want?) see, hear or feel, is ranked far lower than someone who created something. Disproving people's belief in privacy and security is considered less great than proving that something can be done.
Summing up the second point, people see zero positives about him.
Thirdly, people want to see greatness rise...and then fall.
With these points, is it any wonder that some people are apathetic, indifferent, even passively hostile to Snowden's contributions? (And do they not see that they are being screwed too?)
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TODO Got a few examples, need time to piece together.
Eg. Lee Ka Shing.
Actually, the reader can fill in this part with their own examples.
Simply ask yourself who you have been envious/jealous of. Who you really hate, what it is you hate about them, and why you hate that characteristic about them.
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Psychologically, people are capable of inventing the most audacious, comforting stories to explain why one has not attained what they want, or why one has attained whatever they didn't want.
"My bosses haven't been good to me.", an employee blowing off steam.
"I didn't have a chance!", I said, attempting to compete with developers with ten times my experience.
"All women are bitches.", disgruntled men say.
When asked why they didn't do something about it despite realizing and enduring the existence of such problems, another excuse may appear.
Example. The other day, I was waiting for the bus. The expected time was 10 minutes, but it took a bit over 30 for the bus to get here. I was pretty annoyed when it did.
Now, I had faster options, but I stayed. I told myself "it's gotta be here.", "maybe there was heavy traffic back there." Instead of pursuing better options, I gave random reasons to not have to move. And in my mind, the distance I had to go felt longer. Looking back, I was just being lazy.
Boring Psych jumbo below...
SHADOW AND PROJECTION
This observation is corollary to the concept of the Jungian shadow and projection - for which there is a whole bunch of similar meanings.
Pop definition: The shadow is the life not lived, the behaviors not taken, the values not adopted, the choices not chosen.
More abstract definition: One's shadow is the collection of unconscious aspects of one's personality which the conscious ego does not identify in itself.
Conclusion:
That there are ever growing disparities in excellence is a natural phenomenon.
And yet, it doesn't have to be this way. But the change begins with the individual.
There is "excellence" and there is excellence. There are people who became wealthy through moral means and others who didn't. Cast the evil ones out of the excellence category and learn from the real deals.
If you are excellent in some way, help others become better. If you're great and you want to stay great, you're always going to need increasing amounts of mutual-support.
If you aren't doing as great as you wish, get help. There has not been a single instance when something hadn't turned up to help me when I truly looked for it.
If you are a parent, fix your own insecurities and raise kids in a safe, loving, generous environment.
The more we expose and learn about ourselves, the more stable and consistent we become, which in turn leads to integrity, self-trust and trust in others.
Unlike the common self-help people, I don't think that self-comforting excuses are a problem. If anything, it betrays a disintegrity in the person. Perhaps that person does not fully want what they claim they want. They should make sure they really want to, and check/clear the psychological origin of the procrastination, before trying to force themselves into something using powerful psychological tools.
*
Excellence is a talent or quality which is unusually good and so surpasses ordinary standards. Success is defined as having attained the standard of excellence, and in the area, that one desires.
