How important is it to you to feel important?

[Lady Lazarus]

In general?(As in feeling that I am important to strangers on the street and whatnot?) Not very. I don't generally notice nor care when it comes to strangers, acquaintances, etc. Those people are not the least bit important to me so it's fine with me if they hold similar sentiments or lack thereof towards myself.

Specifically speaking, it is essential for me to be/feel as if I am very important(the most important in one particular case) to those I care for as they are very important to me, therefore I expect them to hold me in the same regard I do them.

If we're talking about feeling important within the larger scheme of the world, I will admit I would like a very specific thing I already do to contribute something to the world, even a minuscule mark will do so long as it exists. However, if popularity came attached to said mark I'd forfeit it immediately as that would not be the ends which I would wish to reach whatsoever. So it is somewhat important for me to feel important in that sense but not so important that I'd be willing to undergo the loss of the luxury of anonymity and all that comes with it.

 

[Glint]

It's important to me that I feel appreciated/valued by my group for what I have (or can) contribute, but I don't care about feeling important per se. Especially if it meant responsibility, politics, and public scrutiny.

 

[Hitoshi-San]

To some extent, I can really care about how valuable I am to other people. If the people I really care about consider me just a throwaway or don't pay attention to me at all, sure, it hurts me. I am not big into getting constant pampering and attention, on the other hand. I would rather be independent, but admired.

 

[Morpeko]

Very important. I don't matter to myself, so what's the point of even being alive if I don't matter to anyone else...

 

[Maou]

I want to be valued, respected, and understood. I do like feeling important, but I end up quite the opposite.

 

[julesiscools]

Not so sure that important is the word. I'd like for the people I love to care about me, but I don't think that's needing to be important. I like my coworkers to appreciate the work I do and the help I give, but again it has nothing to do with being important (and if they don't appreciate it, I honestly don't care all that much). If anything, I prefer to be in the background or behind the scenes, and to only really matter to my immediate friend group or family.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

Socially important is irrelevant to me and sounds like a lot of work and fulfilling expectations. I also don't like being in charge, but prefer being a side-kick.

I'd need to be important to my inner circle. I would like a love who idolized me, because that's how I am naturally with them.

I'd also like to be important in idea space. I'd like to be known historically as a creative artist. I'd like to leave my mark. I wouldn't mind being one who is only appreciated after they die.

 

[Mole]

As long as I am trying to live up to my ideals I feel important to myself, even though I may have no importance to anyone else.

Many of us want to be important to others. We look into our mother's eyes and see we are important to her, our very identity is forged in the response we get from our mother. Sometimes our mother is inattentive and so we seek to see ourselves reflected in others. We seek fame, or honours, or simply wealth, to determine who we are.

Literacy, interestingly, teaches us individuality. We read alone, silently, and we become disinterested individuals, free from self interest, and learning to think counter intuitively.

Most of science and mathematics is counter intuitive, liberal democracy is counter intuitive, modern economics is counter intuitive, and some modern art is counter intuitive.

Learning to think counter intuitively is exciting and has all the pleasure of using an unused muscle, and after a while we find we take the counter intuitive for granted, as though it were normal. But it is not normal, for the last 300,000 years we have lived in spoken, intuitive cultures, and only recently have we burst forth counter intuitively with universal literacy, and only in prosperous countries.

 

[Lexicon]

I care about being valued by those I care about, but beyond that, being "important" on any scale isn't even on my radar. I don't require that in order to feel fulfilled in life, I guess. Frankly, I don't even care if anyone remembers me when I die someday. If I leave a positive impact, cool, but who I am or was isn't significant in the grand scheme of things.

(though, oddly, it bothers me a bit that those I have lost won't be remembered once I'm dead, since I'm one of the last who ever knew them, but I also accept that it's the nature of existence)

I matter enough to myself, & those I love. Beyond that- who cares?

 

[Mole]

I care about being valued by those I care about, but beyond that, being "important" on any scale isn't even on my radar. I don't require that in order to feel fulfilled in life, I guess. Frankly, I don't even care if anyone remembers me when I die someday. If I leave a positive impact, cool, but who I am or was isn't significant in the grand scheme of things.

(though, oddly, it bothers me a bit that those I have lost won't be remembered once I'm dead, since I'm one of the last who ever knew them, but I also accept that it's the nature of existence)

I matter enough to myself, & those I love. Beyond that- who cares?

Hey Lexicon, every time you post, your are increasing your importance in the antipodes.

Unfortunately, it is our want to cut down tall poppies. So you will know you have made it in the antipodes when you feel the scythe.

 

[Lexicon]

Hey Lexicon, every time you post, your are increasing your importance in the antipodes.

Unfortunately, it is our want to cut down tall poppies. So you will know you have made it in the antipodes when you feel the scythe.

As a literally tall person IRL, I feel attacked.
I’m just kidding, of course (I *am* tall, but I do not feel attacked). I just enjoy twisting figurative speech into literal, don’t mind me.

 

[Mole]

As a literally tall person IRL, I feel attacked.
I’m just kidding, of course (I *am* tall, but I do not feel attacked). I just enjoy twisting figurative speech into literal, don’t mind me.

When an untoward comment is made to me, I often ignore the figurative part and respond, with a straight face, to the literal part. This seems to work and I rarely get any come back.

It is as though they try to trick me by smuggling the literal part in with the figurative part, so I call their bluff, and they have no come back.

 

[Lexicon]

When an untoward comment is made to me, I often ignore the figurative part and respond, with a straight face, to the literal part. This seems to work and I rarely get any come back.

It is as though they try to trick me by smuggling the literal part in with the figurative part, so I call their bluff, and they have no come back.

And such are the ways that those humans may try to feel important.
I’ve guided the convo back to the thread topic, so to speak.

 

[theablekingedgar]

No, i don't care about feeling important.

 

[Stigmata]

Pretty important. Mostly, I need to feel useful, and that goes hand in hand with important.

^^^ This. I feel like I have to matter in some way or the other. To matter, you have to be important in some context. And being important makes you feel important, though not necessarily superior, prideful, entitled.

I identify with this quite bit. In order for me to be invested, I have to feel like I matter in terms of competency and make a difference. I don't necessarily need to feel important to others per se, but I do need to feel as if I'm a valued and contributing part of something.

 

[Saturnal Snowqueen]

It's important, certainly. Unfortunately, I don't really feel important these days, but I'm getting used to it.

If I don't feel important, it's like I just exist outside of people. Talents and passions are fine to enjoy by yourself, but if you have no one to share them with it feels kinda pointless to have them. And if I don't feel important, what is my purpose in life? Sometimes it feels restricting to be limited to a certain purpose, but if I have something that I'm known for that gives me a place somewhere, then that makes me feel important. I don't really think of importance as it being in the eyes of individuals(though that certainly helps), but more in a broader, social atmosphere. I don't care about being useful per se, more purposeful. I know other people are probably more "useful" than me, but if I'm recognized for a talent or passion I have and put up to the task for that talent, now that makes me feel important.

 

[Burning Paradigm]

It's important. Everyone wants to feel important. Humans are social animals; whether we like it or not, part of our identity and worth is defined by our attachment and relationships with others. We just place some higher importance on feeling important in some groups over others.

As far as how I define feeling important, it depends on the context. I'll admit I like to feel important among social groups or organizations I've voluntarily attached myself to, but not necessarily through merits of advancing leadership (I've seen how status or position =/= productivity or value to an organization). More like general recognition as a functioning member of that group who brings a certain ethic, set of skills, and personality. Among friends, it's less defined; just feeling like you can partake in and share the general "vibe" or interests of the group can make me feel important, although that sometimes conflicts with my desire to keep myself and my thinking independent.

 

[Mole]

It's important. Everyone wants to feel important. Humans are social animals; whether we like it or not, part of our identity and worth is defined by our attachment and relationships with others. We just place some higher importance on feeling important in some groups over others.

As far as how I define feeling important, it depends on the context. I'll admit I like to feel important among social groups or organizations I've voluntarily attached myself to, but not necessarily through merits of advancing leadership (I've seen how status or position =/= productivity or value to an organization). More like general recognition as a functioning member of that group who brings a certain ethic, set of skills, and personality. Among friends, it's less defined; just feeling like you can partake in and share the general "vibe" or interests of the group can make me feel important, although that sometimes conflicts with my desire to keep myself and my thinking independent.

The literate individual doesn't get their sense of importance from the group but from their inner self. After reading silently, alone for many years the literate individual gets their sense of importance from their inner self. And interestingly the sense of importance of the literate individual is disinterested, that is, not self interested, and loves and follows principles and duty. The literate individual is disinterested and principled.

 

[Ghost of the dead horse]

It's binary. It feels and feels not important to be important. I've heard my habits described as wanting to feel important. I've read my habits as not caring about being important. I've heard my lifestyle and appearance as conveying the feeling of being important - that is - not attempting to seem important, but being important. I've heard I'm not important.

Shit, that's more than binary. That's more like existing in a field of 2 by 2 positions in superposition.