"The reason I categorize people and seperate myself from them is simply a reminder that I am held to a much higher standard than them."
You need to remind yourself? Sounds like a symptom of latent insecurity. Ego is fine and all, but using ego to cover other problems reveals flaws in a tryhard fashion. Eventually others see the problems you hide from yourself if you're not careful.
"It doesn't necessarily mean I'm better than them, just that I have the knowledge and the abilities capable of avoiding most problems in life. It's only right that I utilize these abilities to rise in this capitalist system and become successful."
If that were true you'd already be at the top of the ladder. Clearly there are things holding you back. Assuming you are already better than others serves to give you less drive to improve yourself.
"Believing you are special and higher than your competition can be counter productive if put with the wrong mindset, but it only seems to compliment mine."
Fascinating, you see the risk but not how it could apply to you.
"During times of direct competition, such as the seemingly impossible tasks ordered in the Marine Corps, this confidence was usually the edge that rose me above my piers."
Confidence is good, but blind confidence is risky. Trusting yourself a little less will make your edge that much sharper (take that with a grain of salt, this is coming from someone who doesn't trust himself in order to function).
"I wasn't physically the strongest and out of 532 people, probably not the smartest. But, when you walk into a challenge and you truly believe you will succeed, most of the time you hit your mark."
Depends how high your gaze is going. It's not hard to suggest an impossible challenge.
"Like the preacher I befriended, he truly believed God, an unstoppable force guided him to victory."
Conviction is powerful, but if it's for the wrong reasons it can lead into some messy outcomes.
"The idea is to trick yourself into your assured victory or financial success, because you'll strive to receive what's rightfully yours, especially when you think you have the skill set to do so."
Unless unable, yes. Paired with the right traits it becomes a dark comedy for all to see.
I've always had this code, the military just proved what I already knew. Yes, I will say the military(especially USMC) breeds and rewards narcissistic behavior. Perhaps your step father has told you the horror stories and the troubles he's overcame. It boosted my ego significantly, knowing that everyone person I met could be disabled with my bare hands. Knowing that you could out shoot law enforcement, could you blame us? Not to mention the support of the military is phenomenal, I can count on at least once a month my bill being paid for at restraunts by some patriot.
I would have imagined military training just showing how fragile and insignificant people really are. Even with all of that training, any enemy you're facing is likely being trained in a similar fashion, and even after all of that training all it'd take is a few bullets to make it all pointless.
I suppose I am a bit more of the glass half-empty type.
I remind myself because I have a habit of being content with my surrondings and settling down. With this philosophy I'm motivated to go out and achieve what was already entitled to me.
"Conviction is powerful, but if it's for the wrong reasons it can lead into some messy outcomes. "
I think my stalking habit is the perfect example.
"Confidence is good, but blind confidence is risky. Trusting yourself a little less will make your edge that much sharper (take that with a grain of salt, this is coming from someone who doesn't trust himself in order to function)."
I agree completely, I often leave no room for error. Remember the Genghis Khan phrase I quoted a while back?
Im sure what you really meant was piers.
"No room for error" does not mean that error is impossible, and the cost is remarkably high not just for you, but for those with you. Lacking the ability to see how those around you (or yourself) might fuck up blinds you to the risk of it and the ability to improvise should it happen. I would imagine a tactician type benefiting from a focus on flaw analysis over raw drive.
"Perfection" is impossible, it's only a means to never stop pushing toward something. Perfection offers no endgame and constant stress.
" "Perfection" is impossible, it's only a means to never stop pushing toward something. Perfection offers no endgame and constant stress."
That's is its exact purpose in the military. Extreme, continuous pressure mimics the stress that is ever prevalent during wartime. When your used to being under so much pressure and then you come to a civilian environment, you feel powerful to say the least. Especially when you hear the complaining about how they only had 5 hours of sleep or that they didn't have 2 meals today. People take so much for granted and it personally makes me sick.