The Importance of Image

I am not the first to say that reputation is a big part of being an adult. I am certainly not the first adult to damage their reputation through their own words and actions. I like to think that I am the first adult to blog about the phenomenon of being torn between image and disimage. But probably not.

It has been commented to me that one should not care about what anybody else wants for you. Taken to an extreme, this explanation is basically a individualistic manifesto, a ‘selfish’ credo by which to decline the opinions of all others and live to extract information from life in the manner best suited to the person’s inner workings. One of the only holes in my otherwise-sound individualistic outlook on life is the assertion that this kind of blind ignorance of the people around you will make the pursuit of life much harder, not easier, if not taken into consideration. We are built by design to be social creatures, and to resist this too much is a failure to recognize our divine origins.

The concept of ‘disimage’, then, is not merely a poor reputation. This is a wholly incorrect interpretation. Instead, disimage more closely resembles the dismissal of reputatory concerns from the psyche and the objective personality that every person inherits. Simply, it is the lack of care about others’ opinions or recommendations. It is not a thought itself but rather a LACK of thought in this category. I don’t intend this invention of mine to be scientific…merely poetic.

Disimage is proper when aimed properly within the objectivist mindset. It would be fair enough to say that a wise person from which to seek advice is a parent, or a good friend. It would be equally fair to reason that an enemy, archrival, or faceless competitor may not be a sound source of consul. In order to mirror this properly, image ought to be funneled to the friendlies and disimage to all others.

What does this mean? To steal the AE slogan found in preteen-ridden malls everywhere…live your life! Attempting to sow image where image does not belong will make you miserable. It is impossible to please all around you. As stated time and time again in Randian philosophy, this is the Virtue of Selfishness- individuality has a place, and so does altruism.

I am no Biblical scholar, but it is my suspicion that it is not a sin to be wary of those that would do you evil. However, it is admirable to show even these people altruism all the same. However, if and when this does not pay dividends, disimage is the solution. These actions are a mixture of your choice and the choice of a higher power, whose will trumps all else.