Ignorance is one of the worst characteristics you can possess. It can prevent you from growing intellectually and is one of the worst strategies for career advancement . It is a term that shares a similar relationship with the ignorance. In essence illusory superiority is a cognitive bias (error in thinking) whereby a person overestimates his/her abilities in comparison to that of others. The Dunning- Kruger effect; coined by psychologists David Dunning and Kristen Kruger describes this as people with a low ability at a task overestimating their ability; fundamentally because they lack the self-awareness to objectively identify and correct their limitations.
Why Is Illusory Superiority Such A Bad Thing?
It is easy to confuse illusory superiority with self-confidence. As much as it is important to believe in yourself and your abilities; it is equally important to identify and acknowledge when you are wrong. This is to ensure that you are continuously growing and learning from your mistakes. The fact is that you are never always going to be right which is completely normal – however the key is to be more right today than you were yesterday. Illusory superiority robs you of this opportunity of self-improvement because you are closed off to outside opinions and lessons. In essence, you need to consider certainty to be your worst enemy.
The more certain you are the more closed off you will be to outside perception and views. External perception and views are important because it will allow you to question your own values and beliefs – this new insight may lead you to change the way you live your life and bring you more happiness. However all this is only possible if you shed your ego and drop the feeling of superiority – so that you are able to learn from everyone and everything around you. understand and respect everyone’s opinions.
To get you started on your journey of being open minded; read:
Perspective Taking Exercises To Make You More Successful>>
Stephen Hawking Quotes To Give You Perspective>>
Here are some additional benefits you can achieve by avoiding illusory superiority:
- At work and in life you will make less enemies because people will not consider you cocky and a know it all.
- It will make it easier to get promotions and gain skills and tacit knowledge in the workplace; since you will be more like-able and your humble nature will result in people wanting to help you. People who tend to act superior are often left to fend for themselves; and are excluded from promotions especially if they ticked off the wrong people.
- You will be able to find and correct your faults quickly which will give you greater happiness and success in the long term.
- Sometimes Illusory superiority can result in you overestimating your abilities – this could lead to stress and anxiety because you end up in situations where you don’t know what you are doing.
Also read: Reasons For Anxiety Before Sleep And How To Fix it>>, The Best Triggers To Switch Off Negative Thoughts Anxiety>>, How To Distract Yourself From Anxiety – The Best Tips>> - A Harvard study on happiness has shown that the greatest Joy comes from embracing community and developing long lasting relationships. Having an illusory superiority complex is one of the fundamental relationship mistakes to avoid. Avoiding it can prevent conflicts and help you maintain better relationships with your community and the people around you.
- Everyone has a deep seated desire to have the respect of others. This is probably one of the reasons why people act superior – it gives them the feeling of importance they crave. But what if you could be good to people and still gain their respect naturally? wouldn’t that be a better option? People are usually more inclined to follow managers and leaders that have qualities like compassion, are open minded and respectful to others and their opinion. Decide today whether you want to be a leader vs a follower.
Here are some illusory superiority quotes to prevent you from unknowingly showing ignorance and avoiding those that exhibit it as well:
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” – Mark Twain
With regards to illusory superiority quotes – this is by far one of the best floating the internet. In simple terms this quote shows you that stupidity often correlates with ignorance; stupid people never believe that they are wrong. It is therefore useless to win an argument if someone is not open minded. You should always talk about your ideas with others – irrespective of how smart you may be. This is so that you can enhance your perception of the world. The smartest people always believe that they still have a lot to learn.
“A wise man never knows all, only a fool knows everything” – African Proverb
This is one of the better illusory superiority quotes because it is so apt in the world we live in. It clearly emphasizes that the smartest and wisest people understand the concept that ultimate intelligence is not a destination but a journey. It is a continuous journey of self-development. You should always have a curious mind and be a voracious learner.
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” – Charles Bukowski
This is a great illusory superiority quote because it is exactly what tends to happen consistently in life. Intelligent people usually lack the confidence to believe in their ideas; Conversely ignorant people are usually the first to convey meaningless points. If you know you are smart – save the world by rescuing it from those stupid ideas floating around.
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge” – Stephen Hawking
This quote from Stephen Hawking’s shows that even ignorance is not as bad as the illusion of knowledge. At least with ignorance there is a probability of correctness; however if one has the illusion of knowledge the opposite is true.
For more Stephen Hawking quotes read:
Stephen Hawking Quotes For Love Of Live And Intelligence>>
Stephen Hawking Quotes On Life To Give You Perspective>>
“The World is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it” – Albert Einstein
This is one of Albert Einstein’s quotes that clearly highlight a fundamental issue; i.e. the world is being run down by the ignorance of people yet no one steps up to do anything to evoke a change. This also shows us how ignorance can cascade to something much worse when agglomerated over time. If you look at all the biggest issues we face; you will see that it is usually because people make uninformed decisions without considering the repercussions. Also decisions are usually made by people in positions of authority and power whose views are often steadfast and biased.
For More Albert Einstein Quotes Read:
The Best Albert Einstein Quotes About Time>>
Albert Einstein Quotes About Life That Will Get You Thinking>>
“In the age of information, ignorance is a choice” – Donald Miller
This is a great quote because if underlines one fundamental truth of the age we live in. Information is rife. Their are new careers being formed in areas such as data science and big data because of modern day technology. This means that while ignorance may have been acceptable in the past; today it is a personal choice as to how much you know and are willing to know. So stop the superiority and ask yourself: “how can I learn more?”‘ so that you are able to grow as a person.
These illusory superiority quotes put into perspective the importance of always questioning that which you know. To summarize, do this to ensure that you are always open ended and avoiding the trap of ignorance:
- Keep learning – this could be through reading books, watching informative TV show or practicing intellectual hobbies to spark your curiosity. This will make you more humble in the sense that it will teach you that in most cases; your knowledge is only the tip of the ice-berg and there is so much more to learn. Also it will open you up to the benefits of being a polymathic thinker.
If you are interested in the path to being a polymath; read: Your Ultimate Guide To Being A Polymath>> - Ask others for their opinions and areas you need to grow in. This constructive criticism is often what will set-you apart in both your professional and personal life.
- Always question whether your way is the best way. Sometimes you need to go right down to creating your personal values and determining if they need changing. Ask yourself: will changing the way I view this situation make my problem better or worse?
Finally to learn how to fully achieve success in all facets of your life; read: Applying A Growth Mindset To Achieve Success
