THE agains angle kindly sidere CHAPTER VI THE ACHIEVEMENT OF DISTINCTION THE VALUE OF UNPOPULAR TRAITS THE estimate that one man places upon another is largely a matter of prejudice. A single overt act is open to diverse interpretations. How a given fact of behavior is to be regarded depends practically upon the bias of the observer. Bearing this in mind, we begin to wonder what a man is to do who wants to gain favor in the eyes of others. If he spends his money, he is a spendthrift; if he saves it, he is a miser. If he enters the social whirl, he is an idler; if he works, he is a grind. If he talks, he is loud; if he keeps quiet, he is a bore. Thus our actions are exposed to the capricious judgments of our friends and enemies, to be blessed or cursed according to the particular point of view which the behavior stimulates. On account of the prejudicial background of all human estimates, it is likely that traits of the neurotic and the genius are apt to be confused. Characteristics which have their unhealthy aspects under one interpretation may assume a wholesome light under another. The sensitivity which leaves a man so touchy that people cannot associate with him comfortably, is also the capacity which makes the great artist. Such a person is called a genius by his friends and a crank by those who are prejudiced 114 against him. What looks like stubbornness from one angle may be called persistence if judged from a more kindly point of view. Stubbornness may even be considered as ill-directed persistence. What is called patience is often not knowing what to do. Adler draws a detailed picture of the neurotic in which he depicts him as avaricious, inordinately curious, one-sided, peculiar, mystical. These are traits which are typically linked with a sense of inferiority. The same idiosyncrasies which instill in an individual deep-seated feelings of inferiority likewise contribute to the achievement of distinction. Unusual attainments of permanent value frequently originate in a nature of unconventional trends, which lays the individual open to the condemnation and ill-will of his fellow men. Paradoxically stated, undesirable traits, which expose a man to hostile treatment at the hands of society, are yet desirable for their stimulating effect upon the fruition of genius. The final estimate of a particular trait all depends on how the judge looks at it. Peculiarities which foster inferiority feelings are valuable in that they turn a man to original forms of compensation which constitute the real contributions to the advance of culture. It appears that the possession of superior talents bestows a joy that offsets the sacrifice of popularity. The genius suffers abuse from his own generation and thus pays the price for his unusual gifts. The great man, unappreciated by his contemporaries, must look to posterity for glorification. THE PROBLEM OF CONFIDENCE Before proceeding to the analysis of how inferiority promotes the achievement of distinction, there is one problem that must be scrutinized at the outset,—that is the factor of confidence. Doubt never builds anything; it can only tear down. Success demands a transition from self-distrust to self-reliance. How does a man with a sense of inadequacy gain the confidence in himself that buoys him on to the attainment of superiority? There are several possibilities. Although past failings have revealed an individual's incompetency, still he may cling to the belief that he will eventually come into his own. In spite of the present lack of trophies, he may believe in his potential greatness. Along with the sense of inferiority there may exist a vestige of the feeling of superiority that only needs to taste a slight victory to become rekindled. When a man blames his defeats on bad luck, he may be convinced that better times are ahead when circumstances will give him a chance to show his latent strength. He may feel inferior because he thinks that others underrate him, though still confident that the future will bring a revision of opinion. Again, a person may not feel at home in society, who, in his study, has a thorough confidence in the capacity of his intellect. His social uneasiness need not undermine his intellectual self-reliance. Overconfidence encourages relaxation and self-satisfaction. A touch of doubt may tone down a man's overconfidence into a more sane faith in his star. "Disappointment turns life from false dreams to stern realities; it prompts to an investigation of causes, and arouses cognition to a full understanding of the situation. Hope thereby becomes more rational and realizable." 1 A few setbacks, if they are not so serious as to 1H. M. Stanley: Studies in the Evolutionary Psychology of Feeling, chap. XI. INCTION Des a man ce in him- ill he may feel in- at home onfidence neasiness lead to utter discouragement, need not destroy one's confidence. In fact, they may teach a person his weak points, so that he will put his faith where it belongs, in the lines of his strength. "Hope tends to conserve the direction of thought and effort along the line of possible attainment on which hope is set, and in this subserves and specializes the energy of desire.” 2 993 It is possible for a man to develop a confident attitude in spite of his feelings of insufficiency. A definite attack upon "fear-thought, the self-suggestion of inferiority," may be employed, through the methods advocated by New Thought. An individual may turn to religion and find enough reënforcement there to restore his confidence, believing the words, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.' The acquisition of knowledge aids the suppression of "fear-thought." One gains confidence by doing. Groves states that what the man with inferiority feelings needs most is an opportunity to taste a degree of actual success. A successful bluff may acquaint a person with his own powers, by opening the way for him to really exert himself and to discover how much he can actually do under pressure. "In America," says Jung, "two sorts of men make good-the man who can do something and the man who can bluff well." 5 Wine gives a man confidence by removing inhibitions. The drunkard will back himself to perform prodigious deeds and will even attempt them. This fact has not been cited in advocacy of intoxication but merely as an analogy to the effect of a powerful emotion which likewise sets cortical inhibitions at naught. Thus a man who is angry will forget that he could not accomplish a certain task and in his excitement he will confidently perform an assignment which in his calmer moments he would have considered beyond his limits. Inferiority may be overcome by being forgotten, in the manner depicted by Sam Walter Foss in his poem, "The Confessions of a Lunkhead": I'm a lunkhead, an' I know it; 'tain't no use to squirm an' talk, I allus wobble w'en I walk, my j'ints are out er gear, My arms go flappin' through the air, jest like an el'phunt's ear; An' w'en a womern speaks to me I stutter an' grow weak, Wall, thet's the kind er thing I be; but in our neighborhood We growed like corn in the same hill, jest like four sep'rit For they wuz lunkheads, jest like me, an' lummuxes an' gawks. Now, I knew I wuz a lunkhead; but them fellers didn' know, row. An' I, I uster laff an' say, "Them lunkhead chaps will see Joe Craig, he wuz a lunkhead, but it didn' get through his pate; I guess you've all heerd tell of him-he's gov'nor of the State! |