Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Because the world is connected, everyone compares themselves to the very best, so it seems like lots of people are superior to you at everything. People have internalized that they are losers, and social media has greatly amplified that feeling, resulting in a deeply-felt sense of self-doubt. Even exceptional people aren’t winners in their own minds, nor do they think they ever can be because deep down, individuals know that there are many other people who could be them except for chance. Entertainers especially understand how much luck played a part in what they are and what they have, so they give each other made-up awards as a means of reassurance. Even though people who earned their rewards through accomplishment & conscientious behavior are less susceptible, everyone suspects they are inferior; it’s a drag on their self-esteem, and an open wound to poke sticks into. A very successful debate tactic against people whose arguments depend on personal credibility is to imply they are frauds: that anything they’ve achieved was luck, and that their expertise is illusionary. It’s the one accusation that will undermine the confidence of anyone, no matter how famous and successful they are, because it triggers their inferiority complex.