Better Than Average
As humans, we tend to see ourselves from the inside out. This unusual perspective frequently results in people overestimating their own qualities or abilities. The reality is that human beings have a tendency to see themselves through a superiority bias, often referred to as the Better Than Average Effect or BTAE. This lens causes us to overestimate characteristics and abilities when compared to others.
What is the Better Than Average Effect?
The better-than-average effect is perhaps best known as a social experiment where people were asked to rate themselves on a scale compared to their peers in different aspects of life. Of those in the experiment, the majority of people rated themselves as better than average. You don’t have to be a genius to understand that these self-evaluations cannot hold true for everyone.
Own Your Junk – What does the Bible say about this concept?
Anytime I am learning about a topic, I like to stop and ask the question, “What does the Bible say about this concept?” In many cases, I find something I can immediately apply to my learning. In this case, Matthew chapter seven, verses four through five, beautifully illustrates a similar concept.
“How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:4-5 NIV).
Own Your Junk
We have blind spots because we tend to see ourselves subjectively. The first step is for us to acknowledge something needs to change.
In her book Reset, Debra Fileta tells people to “Own Your Junk.”
Outside-in Perspective
I want us to take a few minutes to try something. In the chapter, Debra Fileta asks readers to view themselves from the outside looking in. For the sake of this Own Your Junk exercise, think about a recent conflict or interaction you had recently.
Here are a few questions Debra asks in the book.
What was the other person’s perspective of you?
What do you observe about yourself?
What do you notice about your tone, volume, body language, and the words you speak?
How is the other person responding to you?
Debra refers to this exercise as practicing objectivity.
Our personal bias can be both interesting and frustrating at the same time. We tend to judge others quickly while withholding judgment for our own lives. This bias often prevents us from making true progress toward lasting change.
I Admit
Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Celebrate Recovery are some of the most successful ways of moving toward addiction recovery. These organizations follow 12 steps that assist their members in moving toward change.
The first step for both of these programs is as follows:
“We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.”
As you will see, the more you compare psychology and the Bible, in many cases, psychology mirrors what Scripture has said for years. Acknowledging our sins, struggles, and weaknesses is the first step toward healing and making positive changes. Because we see the world around us much more subjectively, seeing change looking outward comes much easier for us. But let us ask ourselves what would happen if we took regular time to evaluate our lives and, as Debra says, “own our junk.”
Verse for Reflection
”Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results“ (James 5:16 NLT).
Source
[1] Fileta, D. (2023). Reset. Harvest House Publishers.
