IJSP Number 6, 2024

99 beings in their own right. They are subjects and not objects that have to look up to a singular and self-important one. From such a perspective, there are no ‘more important’ or ‘less important’ ones. A beautiful example for the previous statement is presented in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”, where the protagonists of the novel wrought on the great wall of the farm: “All animals are equal.” [21]. That would be the existential perspective of self-esteem. But, sometimes during the night, somebody completed the simple sentence to say that: “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others” [22]. Indeed, that is the perspective of self-importance! If self-esteem is virtue (meaning that it is maintained by a constantly renewed strength of character), then self-importance is power (comprises the force one has and exerts on others). In short it is just as Goethe said about Napoleon: if one does not find virtue – self-esteem – one cannot but take power instead, namely self-importance. And power is something that must be paraded with, that has to be presented to the world, as the French ‘Great Emperor’ illustrated (and, sadly, all of the dictators that were, that are, and, we may say, will be). Kipping the same context in mind, self-importance is an abuse one does on the human potential, it is actually a coup d’état , an anthropological lèse majesté for which there is a heavy praise to pay. From a Piagetian point of view, namely that of the evolution of intelligence, self-importance manifests mainly on the grounds of concrete operations stage with maybe some formal operations masquerading. On the other hand, self-esteem starts from the formal stage of adult intelligence and, as it is in a continual development process, is moving towards the post-formal levels that embrace complexity – as Ken Wilber specified in: “Integral Psychology” [23]. As such, those that are on the self-esteem trajectory of existence, are in a constant and never-ending maturity and growth process. Although it is said that “life is unfair” and we should “get used to it”, in our very core of our personalities, we cannot get used to it, we cannot resign. We strive, and fight, and learn, and go on despite all the difficulties life throws at us relentlessly. Maybe that is so, because there is a drive that originates in the innermost shrine of our temple where the self-esteem is, and not in the more superficial, colourful, and luring self-importance. Self-importance is just something that meets the eye. But life itself and the deep aspects of human psychology are more than what one can see, measure, evaluate, display on a screen or in a statistic pie. It’s not easy to work in psychotherapy with self-important clients. First of all, because they do not usually subject themselves to psychotherapy (they do not have a problem). And, if they do, they do not search for the ‘deeper’ approaches, preferring the ‘quicker’ ones (they haven’t got the time), the ‘shallower’ ones (they want to speak and to be listened to), or maybe the ‘posher’ ones. Then, being ‘very important’ they’ll try and hijack the sessions, they will try to lead it,