This is not a psychology post on narcissism or anything (and I am not qualified for that! 🙂 )

For a long time I believed that narcissism, self promotion and personal branding are negatives and must be avoided or at least not actively engaged with.

Though these are disparate concepts, they do have some common thread. They kind of revolve around self importance and self marketing aspects.

What I want to discuss here is the mixed signals one receives regarding these topics and how to make sense of it.

Narcissism

In recent times there is lot of awareness about narcissism and how it is a toxic trait which damages relationships.

And that is true.

But equally important is the other aspect of it, as described in the book The Attributes by Rich Diviney. He argues that a healthy amount of narcissism is actually required to succeed in the world.

You need to consider yourself important and worthy enough.

That you matter.

These are the foundations of self esteem. But a healthy amount of narcissism maybe needed at times. When you push yourselves ahead of everyone and nominate yourself for a challenging task.

Of course anything taken to the extreme can be damaging to you and potentially those around you. But instead of shunning it completely, we need to engage with it with awareness.

Self promotion

Self promotion does not mean being a phony or advertising falsehoods. But you don’t need not shy away from being vocal about your achievements and journey.

Without self promotion many people who might actually benefit from knowing or working with you will not even know that you exist.

It is another way of putting yourself out there in the world. Being an advocate for yourself and guiding people to have a better understanding about the real you.

Personal branding

Again branding gets a bad rap as trying too hard or outright manipulative. Whether we like it or not, all of us already have a personal brand.

The way people perceive us, our presence and talk about us.

So a healthier approach is to acknowledge its presence, and take conscious steps to build a brand which more authentically reflects you and your values.

Conclusion

Overall, instead of completely dismissing these topics, we need to engage with them more responsibly. We need to audit where we stand on each of these aspects, and make conscious and responsible changes.