one-upmanship
 

isnt it annoying when someone always has to go one better than you? or they have a friend who did or they once did this that and the other and they know more about it than you.

reality is always one up than you. don't get annoyed at it.

If that didn't happen there would only be giraffes with a short neck.

infelicitous fucks.

people, in general, who feel the need to overcompensate for their insecurities are annoying

I had the exact same experience as you, only better.

ha ha ha ha ha ah ha ha




yes.

What's even worse are people that try to one-up others in humility or authenticity. How dense can a person be?

you mean like my meekness is bigger than yours?

yeah

the ethical one-up really gets on my balls. i'm purer/ more indie/ more ethical than you. read: preachy vegans & rocknroll puritans.

anyway. let's see who has the last word on this thread. ha!

I hate those insecure assholes, always seeking to bolster their already inflated sense of ego and self, to shore it up against what they know is a tidal wave of ineptitude and mediocrity.

fucking idiot one-uppers.

I also hate when middle aged women start conversations with this, "Roberto, you are gonna klaugh, you will thin this is funny, so, OK, I was at the....."

Merked!

I've never enjoyed the idea of competition. It robs so much of what I love out of life. While it is important to have a sense of oneself in the greater scheme of things, I never like dwelling on it. I'm not as much of a social being as some so I do value opting out of the rat race from time to time to reflect/ponder/listen to music/read at my own pace. Then when I'm satisfied, I get back in. So is living in a capitalistic democracy.

I am all for competition when it is a game or a sport ra business venture, but when it becomes the tired bullshit about personal achievements, and experiences, then you know you are dealing with a real fucking loser.

And difference between that and blowing smoke up your own ass on a job application? We all do it. Most of the time sincerely. What's the difference between somebody stating an honest fact that they have achieved just to make conversation and you judging them as some kind of asshole?

Some times people ask me what I'm writing my final paper on for this year and I give simple but pointlessly vague answer. I don't want to look like a douche by listing a bunch of Philosopher names who I've only just learned the significance of myself over the semester. It's the audience that makes the "one-upmanship" call. I could be talking to a resentful anti-intellectual, or a generally curious soul or a fellow philosophy student. I can answer al three with the same answer and appear completely different to all three. Am I a prententious one upper? Am I condescending? Am I adequately answering the question? The audience will pick me apart as they wish.

Wow. I could soooo start a waaayyy better thread than this one.

I have made a number of wittier posts than this one. Should I link you?

Ahahaha! I never thought I'd see that word on here. :D

i don't know the answer to those questions, but those sure are a lot of insecurities!


ppfffttt!!! i have started 1008238523529 supremely awesome posts

In response, all I can say to you pathetic cunts is, "Prove it."

I on the other hand have nothing to prove.

I hate people that pretend they have no insecurities. To live is to be anxious. The comfortable are boring, simple, and delusional.

Or maybe you should realize those questions were asked of the audience, not myself. Like I said, let them pick me apart as they wish.

Because you excel at nothing?

i only mention this because despite having met many people who try and get one over on you the guy next to me at work takes some beating. literally no subject or thing passes by without him chiming in and its driving everyone mad.

when you're a pussy! :D

hm. nefeli wins.

we can't one-up her, and who would even want to?

i surrender! :D

If you were intelligent enough and you weren't scared of people bragging about their own (false or not) achievements surely you wouldn't worry about their antics, no?

It is interesting that those who make priority to show their lack of anxiety in social circles often have the most deep seeded anxieties of us all. They fear their own fear and hide it. I believe these people are what this thread is about.

I'd rather seek to improve myself than be comfortable and complacent. And that is exactly what lacking anxiety leads to, complacency. Fear death and let it enrich life.

shhh... nefeli won already. she's un-one-uppable.





but if you wanna go for 2nd place-- bring it on!

---

no, seriously, i was joking this whole thread. are you discussing seriously now?

if you are serious-- fear is natural but anxiety is neurotic i think. same as fear vs cowardice. of course everyone feels fear. but cowards are controlled by it. isn't it how it works?

and about the desperate one-uppers-- tends to be a male pattern, at least in the most stereotypical way. kenny vs. spenny?

Scared and annoyed are not the same in this context. To be scared of their achievements is to be apart of the competition, to be annoyed is to be reminded of the competition when you're motivated by other forces like exploration or expression.

Aren't you replying in what comes across as the tone similar to what I'd expect from someone who is one-upping another person? Duh.

no, he does genuinely sound like aristotle. which is cool, in my book.

Awwwww!

I've been just trying to channel my opinion.

Well of course being petrified is unhealthy but being anxious to act is completely healthy. Unfortunately it is the world that allows or prevents us from acting on our anxieties which is what leads to neuroticism but find ways!

I don't know anything about "what you'd expect." But if you think I am, I'm sorry.

You don't need to apologise for anything, certainly not to me.

i am way more sorry than you. i can out-sorry your ass anytime.

Just read over my posts here and realized how much Nietszchian/Derridean rhetoric I was using. Ew. But recognizing the subjective bias of interpreting one-upmanship is important. I have several friends that love to talk about themselves and what they've done. Fortunately I'm an eager listener and am genuinely interested in what they think and have done. BUt I've met other friends that think the others are complete one-uppers.

so you're better than your friends, is what you're saying?

Death to my friends.

I am referring to the existential crisis. I really don't see how much of a difference there is between it as "restlessness" and a "problematic mental state." That depends on your answer to the question. I'm referring to the former because the latter is nihilism and slow death.

I would say "fear" is momentary. The fright or flight moment. Anxiety is within us, a lasting fear regarding existence (or meaning of our own).

I would think that a restlessness that is utterly incapable of being acted upon would lead to the stuck neurosis that you are referring to. To not work towards one's "meaning" is to be stuck in the existential crisis which allows the nihilism (the stuck sensation) to encroach.

I must say, this is all very helpful towards my Hermeneutics final paper.