My friend (let's call him "Don") has become a completely different person since hooking up with his girlfriend of 6 months (let's call her "Lisa"). I've known the guy since high school, and let's just say the humility that once set him apart from everyone else has fallen by the wayside. Long story short, he got a good job, bought a new car, and started kissing nearly every girl that struck his fancy.
Now that he's with Lisa, he has souped up his car and prattles on and on about going to the gym and bulking up. Once unpretentious and hardly concerned with looks, popularity, and material things, the new Don gives fresh meaning to "flashy" and "cocky."
There's nothing wrong with someone's self-confidence getting a boost. After all, we tend to feel really good about ourselves whenever we're making more money and getting increased attention from the opposite sex.
But you can tell when a person is trying a bit too hard. The air of confidence Don exudes sometimes seems forced and unnatural. It's almost as though he feels a person with more money, a nice car, and a girlfriend should project more self-assurance, even at the risk of seeming too self-absorbed.
The thing is that the line between self-confidence and arrogance is a fine one indeed. It's pretty obvious his reasons for wanting to work out go beyond simply keeping fit. He can't get enough of all the female attention he's supposedly getting now.
And he tries to act overly self-assured in the presence of his girlfriend, like he knows anything and everything.
Some people are just better at leveraging their good fortune than others. Some of us can get a promotion, make more money, and get showered with compliments -- all without letting it change our personalities.
In the case of Don, he has let the windfalls in his life go to his head -- so much so that I don't feel he's even the same person anymore. I applaud him for improving his lot in life, but unfortunately, it has come at the expense of some of his best human qualities.
I don't take kindly to people who change just to impress others -- whether it be friends, bosses, or love interests. I realize certain situations call for one to change his demeanor somewhat, but once you start sensing the person is changing radically, that's when you have to question whether it's a relationship worth keeping.
The second I sense someone walks around with a presumptous "I'm better than you" attitude, that's when I cut them off.
What do you make of people who try too hard to impress others, drastically changing their persona in the process?
For prior posts, please click this link: How to Understand People
Now that he's with Lisa, he has souped up his car and prattles on and on about going to the gym and bulking up. Once unpretentious and hardly concerned with looks, popularity, and material things, the new Don gives fresh meaning to "flashy" and "cocky."
There's nothing wrong with someone's self-confidence getting a boost. After all, we tend to feel really good about ourselves whenever we're making more money and getting increased attention from the opposite sex.
But you can tell when a person is trying a bit too hard. The air of confidence Don exudes sometimes seems forced and unnatural. It's almost as though he feels a person with more money, a nice car, and a girlfriend should project more self-assurance, even at the risk of seeming too self-absorbed.
The thing is that the line between self-confidence and arrogance is a fine one indeed. It's pretty obvious his reasons for wanting to work out go beyond simply keeping fit. He can't get enough of all the female attention he's supposedly getting now.
And he tries to act overly self-assured in the presence of his girlfriend, like he knows anything and everything.
Some people are just better at leveraging their good fortune than others. Some of us can get a promotion, make more money, and get showered with compliments -- all without letting it change our personalities.
In the case of Don, he has let the windfalls in his life go to his head -- so much so that I don't feel he's even the same person anymore. I applaud him for improving his lot in life, but unfortunately, it has come at the expense of some of his best human qualities.
I don't take kindly to people who change just to impress others -- whether it be friends, bosses, or love interests. I realize certain situations call for one to change his demeanor somewhat, but once you start sensing the person is changing radically, that's when you have to question whether it's a relationship worth keeping.
The second I sense someone walks around with a presumptous "I'm better than you" attitude, that's when I cut them off.
What do you make of people who try too hard to impress others, drastically changing their persona in the process?
For prior posts, please click this link: How to Understand People
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