Psychologically Speaking, the World Doesn’t Revolve Around You
And thinking it does is detrimental to your well-being.
According to psychologist Jean Piaget, children below the age of two years old think that the universe revolves around them. So much so, that they believe objects and people only exist for as long as they are staring at them. It’s only after the age of two that they begin to recognize this isn’t the case.
And yet, some of us continue to think we are the center of the universe long into adulthood. In extreme cases, according to Emily Grijalva Ph.D., this irrational thinking leads to Narcissist Personality Disorder. These types of people have difficulty navigating everyday life, such as holding down a job, because they have unrealistic expectations.
In less extreme cases, believing you are special and holding an egocentric worldview leads to counterproductive behavioral traits, including:
- Believing people are always watching you, and becoming self-conscious.
- Feeling entitled to things you aren’t.
- Interpreting everything that happens to you in a personal way.
Psychologists call this irrational mode of thinking self-centered bias. It causes us to believe we are worthy of some special treatment…
