It is common for people to try to sound and look smart in social and work environments. The truth is, most of the time, when you manage to look and sound smart, you are taking a direct blow to people's egos. It is always better to look dumb and hard-working. Egos are fragile and reactive by nature; anything that can be taken as a threat will be taken as a threat. Egos only believe in zero-sum games, so make sure you understand that every time you feel super proud of the smart thing that you said or did, there are many egos feeling hurt and threatened. It doesn't matter how many smiles and compliments you receive; this holds true in every case.
We all want to look and sound smart in social and work environments. We think that if we come across as smart, people will respect us more. But the truth is, when you manage to look and sound smart, you are often taking a direct blow to people's egos.
Egos are fragile and reactive by nature. Anything that can be taken as a threat will be taken as a threat. Egos only believe in zero-sum games, so when you feel proud of the smart thing that you said or did, there are many egos feeling hurt and threatened. Even if people smile and compliment you, this still holds true.
It's always better to look dumb and hard-working. This way, you can avoid hurting people's egos and still come across as competent. Showing that you are willing to put in the work and learn will always be more impressive than coming across as an all-knowing genius. People will respect your effort and dedication more than your intelligence. And more importantly, they will feel safe and smart... and that's the ultimate goal in a work and social environment.
