Staying anchored in awareness amid the illusions of success.
Most people believe that power, fame, and money change people. But I’ve come to realize — they don’t necessarily change us; they amplify what already exists within.
And this doesn’t happen only at the top. You don’t need to be the richest or the most powerful to experience it. Even within a small circle, a minor success, or a brief sense of authority, we begin to feel the shift.
- A manager starts believing the team succeeded because of his leadership, overlooking the hard work, late nights, and quiet persistence of the team members who made it possible.
- A movie star thinks the applause is only for his talent, forgetting the director, the crew, and the audience that made it possible.
- A founder credits every milestone to his vision, overlooking the timing, the ecosystem, and the luck that played their part.
The scale differs, but the psychology remains the same. We begin to internalize success as a personal entitlement rather than a shared consequence. When I start overvaluing my contribution and skill set while ignoring serendipity and support, I begin to believe that every right decision was purely my doing.
Then it quietly becomes my way or the highway. Over time, people stop disagreeing, not because I’m always right, but because I’ve stopped inviting dissent. And that’s when negative virtues such as pride, ego, greed, envy, and anger quietly take the driver’s seat.
It’s easy to judge others when we see these traits in them — the arrogant boss, the boastful colleague, the self-absorbed celebrity. But perhaps the wiser approach is to hate the sin, not the sinner, to see how these same forces can rise within any of us when awareness slips. That’s when humility becomes not just a virtue, but a form of vigilance.
The only antidote is awareness – to stay grounded in realism, to remember that outcomes are never the product of one person’s brilliance alone, and to accept, however difficult it may be, that everyone is different, not wrong.
Peace is not found in control or validation, but in being calm at the core, no matter the moment, no matter the noise.
Whenever I’ve fallen into this trap, I’ve suffered, but each time, I’ve also learned. Now, I’m consciously breaking this vicious cycle, i.e., choosing not to react out of ego or pride but to stay aware, grateful, and grounded.
As I continue this journey, I’m also learning to observe why people behave the way they do, not to judge them, but to understand the patterns that play out in all of us. Their behavior often reflects the very traps I’m trying to avoid. That observation itself keeps me humble and reminds me to stay alert, aware, and anchored in the right state.
But one question always lingers in my mind:
If I understand why people behave the way they do and if I can see their weaknesses or biases and then use that knowledge to design something, is it manipulation or creation?
I firmly believe, it depends on the intent.
- When insight is used to control behavior for self-gain, it becomes manipulation.
- When used to serve awareness, solve problems, or create value, it becomes a form of creation.
Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook embody this paradox. They understand our need for validation and connection, yet how they use that understanding determines whether they empower or exploit. As a builder and observer, that’s the question I keep asking myself:
“Am I amplifying manipulation or truly creating value for everyone?”
Because the line between the two is extremely thin, I can easily cross it if I’m not paying attention. That’s why awareness isn’t a one-time realization; it’s a continuous practice. Every design choice, every product feature, every word I write must pass through that inner lens of intent. Only then can I stay aware while creating and let power, fame, or success become ways to do good, not traps for the ego.
Learning to build with honesty, not control