I feel this a lot. Intellectually, I know that even when people do have special talents, they often end up in all sorts of trouble since they are objectified and stereotyped for the 'thing' that they can offer. Celebrities are often good examples of this. What people really want is to actually be loved, yet our primitive society is instead structured around dominance hierarchies.
Interestingly, there's research indicating that most people rate their abilities as '
better than average', which of course is impossible since someone has to actually be average. In certain other situations, people can view themselves as below average.
It's easy to see why optimism and self-enhancement would be a characteristic that humans evolved to possess. It seems to be a natural defense against
depressive realism, which would not serve the survival of the species. And yet, in terms of our general attitude, humans are sharply biased towards the
negative, presumably because unpleasant things can represent a threat to our very survival whereas positive things are at best a fleeting feel-good moment.
When all is said and done, it is helpful to be mindful of the fact that our thoughts are distorted and biased in all sorts of ways.
