I’m not  sure why, but last night I thought about pretention and the various ways of using it…

As usual, a concept needs a definition to make sure we are on the same line (see Semantic, The King of Alchemy). At a first glimpse, I can easily see two faces of pretentiousness: one Self Limiting and another one Self Empowering.

Self Limiting Pretentiousness

Probably the most common way we see it, Pretentious people are seen as too much of themselves. From the viewer’s perspective, there might be strong sense of judgment and personal projection cast upon that person that we believe as being hypocrite. If we are wrong, we may be calling an ambitious person a liar because his/her sense of ambition greatly varies from ours. Could that person be seen as pretentious because it reflects our lack of self confidence and personal ambition?

Now, I believe that this type of Self Limiting pretentiousness is exactly the same as being Hypocrite – it implies a lack of Self honesty.

Without honesty, we start making a fool of ourselves and start becoming our own ennemy, not wanting to face the truth and take the challenges rising in front of us.

Self empowering Pretentiousness

I believe that being pretentious can be used as a great tool for self-empowering… when used with awarness.

The idea is to consciously lie to ourselves in order to create a mask / another Self that would take us to new realms seemed out of reach before.

Life is seeded with challenges that come through many aspects. A challenge is an event emotionally charged that makes us question our Trust & Authority over the outcome of the latter.

Here, the mask can be used as a Power Self, somebody that inspires us & propels us through challenges with a sense of confidence & success. With him, we can start dipping our toes inside our Fears to slowly realize the achievment we’ve made and call it our own. That’s when the mask can start melting in ourselves, claiming now a new Personal Power.

It’s all about acting really – I believe that playing Indiana Jones in front of our Fears is much more fun and rewardful than being Scoobydoo!! (although he seems to have great success ahaha)

Remains the question of looking “fake” in front of public authority - Friends & Family. Well, maybe the best way not to make a fool of ourselves is to confess how much of a fool we always are!!