I have a friend who considers himself brilliant. The problem is that you can't dismiss it as charming buffoonery, since he actually is brilliant. So that makes it immodesty, which of course we can't permit.
Update: Yes, this was a joke. Satire or something.
Me, I am not a modest person. I think I'm friggin brilliant.
But here is the rub: I think
you are friggin brilliant too. And I think you should *think* you are friggin brilliant. And allow yourself to say so!
The world molds to our thoughts. Especially our own abilities, obviously. So if we give in to pressure to think less of ourselves, we become less. If we think more of ourselves, we become more.
Some people feel that if somebody appear to be impressed by himself and talk a lot about his own work, that makes *them* feel smaller... !
I think if this is the case, then they better work on their own self-confidence instead of trying to stiffle that of the other person.
Second update: Following a good comment by Lucid, I want to add:
Ego is an ugly thing, causing us much pain in so many ways. But I have a strong feeling that
suppressing the ego is what
creates the ego.