ABSTRACT
Rather than humility—which is often accompanied by the inner conviction that we are better than others—this chapter argues that the opposite of grandiosity is actually laziness. We are lazy when we do not wrestle with our own fantasies and callings, indolently ignoring them to preserve our easy living and comfort. What follows then is the conventional life—we do what everyone else seems to be doing, what we think we should do to fit in. The chapter explores how culture—for instance, through the people who are celebrated in society, like actual heroes or celebrities—shapes our ability to explore our unique grandiose fantasies and callings. Mindlessly following the conventional life can be disappointing, and examples of these outcomes are presented from the work of Dante and Tolstoy.
