THE GOD COMPLEX: HOW YOUR CONFIDENCE COULD BE LEADING YOU TO DELUSION

WE'VE all met one. The boss who believes they're the office oracle. The friend who can't take feedback without turning it into a TED Talk. Or that influencer whose captions sound like commandments from Mount Instagram.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

WHEN confidence becomes unchecked, it can turn toxic.

(Pexels)

This is more than an exploration of ego; it's a closer look at how the God complex blurs confidence into unchecked entitlement, creating problems for individuals and those around them.

In today’s self-optimised, hustle-obsessed culture, it’s easy to glorify certainty. We love people who “know their worth” But when that belief morphs into an unwavering conviction that one can do no wrong, it’s no longer empowerment; it’s entitlement dressed in designer confidence.

The term “God Complex” was first coined by psychoanalyst Ernest Jones in Essays in Applied Psychoanalysis to describe individuals who see themselves as infallible, all-powerful, all-knowing, and conveniently above the rules that govern the rest of us.