A Legend in His Own Mind
One type of small man thinks he is “a legend in his own time,” but is actually only a Legend in His Own Mind. He tells tall tales and makes himself the hero. He’s the guy who goes elk hunting and when his gun jambs, he jumps from the tree onto the animal’s back and brings it down with just his hunting knife.
Braggadocio, braggart, big shot. Other small men and children believe his stretched truths and come away impressed. Everyone else gets sick of hearing him talk about himself. One waitress was sick of dealing with a guy who was a LiHOM. When she came by this big mouth’s table, she asked out of habit, “Can I pour you some more coffee?”
“Yeah, but just a mouthful,” the man answered.
She smiled to herself and began pouring. The coffee filled the cup. She kept pouring. The coffee flowed over into the saucer. She kept pouring. The coffee spilled onto the table.
The man jumped up and said, “Hey, what are you doing?”
The server smiled and said, “Sir, you said a ‘mouthful.’”
While the Legend in His Own Mind may be likeable for other reasons, his wife is often the first one to tire of hearing his stories. Watch the faces of his family when he talks and you will see boredom or outright disgust.
Typically the LiHOM man really wants to be a great man, but lacks the courage or initiative to do something worthwhile with his life. Instead, he spends his creative energies trying to color in the shadows of his life and making events out of chance occurrences.
If you find your self with LiHOM issues, begin by asking yourself why you are unhappy with yourself. What makes you feel small in life and what can you do to make yourself a bigger man by action and not words?
Next, commit to stop complimenting yourself. A Legend in His Own Mind does not feel appreciated by others so he tries to prove himself worthwhile. He craves compliments. However, he prevents people from complimenting him because he does it for himself so much.
Start complimenting others. Brag on others. Tell big stories (only true, of course) about your family and friends. When you lift others up, you suddenly look bigger in their eyes.
Compliment God. Tell hero stories about Him. As you lift up Jesus, the greatest Man, He will exalt you in front of others. Better than that, praising God builds your self-worth. You can kick this habit and become more than half a man. Be all God made you to be, and He will cure you of being a legend in your own mind.
