Things I Learned In Therapy

I don't have all the answers, but Google does, so by proxy we are all brilliant.....

 I want to live in a world where it is ok for us to feel pride in ourselves.  Seemingly, I'm allowed to be smart, resourceful and independent but not allowed to be confident or helpful.... really?

Recently, I was told by someone (a male) that my confidence is off-putting, and people hate it when I "act like I'm smart" and try to help them, and that I am perceived as a cavalier know-it-all who is actually belittling the ones I aim to help, that I am so arrogant that I don't see it, and to top it all off, I purposefully limit my interactions with people who are dumber than me in order to feel good about myself.  This is quite an insult, not only to me but to anyone I ever interact with (including this person I dare say).  Clearly none of these things can be true, or I would've heard it from someone other than him by now, and people would have stopped hitting me up for advice long ago.  I gather that this insult stems from the way this person feels about himself.  Why else would he want me to feel bad about the way I am?  Why would he want me to believe that I should keep my mouth shut lest I go around offending people?  Why would anyone take my behavior personally?  This is an example of bullying, where you want to knock someone down a peg to make yourself feel better, right?  Only it backfired on him, because my peg is still right where it was.  Thanks to years of therapy, I know what is good about me, in a factual sense.  I also know what is bad about me in a factual sense, which is why I have been in therapy for 4 years.   Knowing your own strengths/weaknesses is a GOOD THING, and it is not easy to un-know something you have studied and worked hard for.  I consider myself to be a force of good in the universe, isn't that a good thing?  I like helping people when I can.  I also like being helped by people who know more than me!  And what's wrong with giving advice?  It's GIVING, not taking, it's free to use or to disregard, or even to challenge, so why should it bother anyone?  My opinions are based on my knowledge and experiences, same as yours.  I am not simply a product of how I was raised, or what I was taught in school.  I do not operate on autopilot... anymore, thanks to therapy...  Thanks to therapy I have a sense of organic confidence that I didn't have before.  I pursue knowledge and solutions, I offer to help people whether I know them or not, I challenge people who used to intimidate me.  I am able to feel things like pride and peace.  And you want to hold that against me?  You want to turn it into something it's not, you want to turn it into snobbery and cockery, when it clearly isn't.  I am proud of my ability to see people and things for what they are.  There is no need for comparison when you see things that way, so how can you say I think I am better than you?  What one person is capable of has nothing to do with anyone else, therefore comparisons are simply pointless.  Fish can't climb trees, a smart person would never bother to compare them to squirrels.  Personally, I would be thrilled if everyone decided to be the best person they could be.  People who are okay with themselves are ultimately going to do more for the greater good than someone who has not addressed their self esteem issues.  Low self esteem is the reason people go crazy and think evil thoughts and do evil things.  Low self esteem is the opposite of peace.  I know from personal experience.  When I decided to become the best me possible, I knew my only hope was to get my ass to therapy, and it has resulted in personal growth that I wouldn't have achieved otherwise.  I am going to continue to share myself, my wisdom, my experiences, my knowledge, my mistakes, my ideas, my music....  and I am going to pass my philosophy on to my children and hope nobody tries to make them feel bad for being the best people they can be.  Ideally, you will join me in this, and we will raise the next generation to be intelligent, peaceful, confident people, who aren't cocks.