Why Being A Jerk Can Make You More Successful

Most of the time, we’re raised alongside of the idea that being a jerk won’t get you anywhere; our children are taught that constantly bickering with one another and mouthing off to their elders will get them in trouble, and social norms often dissuade adults from behaving rudely. There’s a secret truth out there to being a jerk, however, that could reshape how you go about your day to day life.

The unfortunate reality that few are willing to stomach is that, often times, being a jerk is the best way to get ahead. Learning to let your inner-rascal out won’t be easy, but doing so successfully will undoubtedly help you out in the long run. Whether you’re trying to become more assertive in your personal life, succeed more often in your business ventures, or reach the top of the class in your pursuit of an education, tapping into some anger and being a jerk for just a short while can seriously set you apart from the competition and make you more successful.

Being a jerk pays off

As uncomfortable as we may be admitting it, it’s undeniably true that being a jerk pays off – literally. Having a cut-throat attitude in your business endeavors, for instance, is likely to help you bring home a bigger paycheck . Businessmen are renowned for their ruthless focus on whatever task is before them, and anyone hoping to be more successful should understand that a detached, objective position which may seem rude to others is often the one that will generate the greatest dividends and bring you the most success.

Acting like a jerk has a tendency to conflate your value in the eyes of others; as much as it may hurt to say, braggarts who make everything about them are often cherished as leadership figures, and stand out from the rest of the crowd to outside onlookers. Going over the top and being a highly sensationalist trouble maker isn’t likely to get you anywhere, but a measured dosage of bravado is likely to get you ahead, and make you feel more confident as you go about your day to day activities.

This doesn’t give you permission to go about ruining the days of others, however; everyone should understand that danger in overperforming any social role, especially that of the jerk, and understand that you’ll need to back up your big talk with action. Countless freelancers and journalist have chronicled their experiences with acting like a boorish brute for a short while, and they often come to the same conclusion; in many ways, being a jerk just pays off too much to ignore.

Still, it can be baffling to try and wrap one’s head around the concept that being a jerk can make you more successful. Isn’t our society structured around civil discourse, and isn’t acting like you’re always the center of attention supposed to turn people away from you? As a matter of fact, no; being a jerk is a storied tradition that’s found time-honored success again and again, and while society pays lip service to being polite, it seldom follows through on its commitments to being civil.

Understanding how to get ahead

The truth is, those that understand how to get ahead come to realize the benefits of being a jerk early; it’s not so much the personal satisfaction derived from being needlessly mean or hateful as it is the pedestals jerks are placed on early in their lives that’s incentivizing harsh behavior. We often lionize jerkish behavior in our media after telling children not to act that way, and giving them CBD oil to calm down, thus sending them conflicting messages. More often than not, these kids follow the behavior of their jerkish role models on the TV more so than the advice of their parents.

The reality is that today’s highly partisan political world and fragmented media means that we’re exposed to countless jerks on our TV screens, cellphones, and entertainment systems on a day to day basis. We’re often taught that you have to get tough to get ahead, and most children learn early that, as long as you play by the rules formally, you can be as informally ruthless as needed to get ahead of your peers.

The smugness of billionaires and other successful people has been well documented. Human psychology confirms what common sense has already told us; being a jerk often makes you more successful, even when it miffs the people around you. With being a jerk comes confidence, and a sense of respect from others, whether it should be that way or not. Learn to exploit that, and you’ll quickly find that tailored levels of being a jerk will help you rapidly ascend the social ladder and reach greater levels of success than ever before.