Amongst his peers he boasted pretentiousness, but truth be known, he was a little man. Some people called him a cocky son of a gun for being so full of himself. Others accepted his luckiness in reaching the top of his profession, though wealth doesn’t make a person a better.
Affluent people can be humble, but in his case, it wasn’t enough that he was successful. He felt that he needed to show off by acting like he owned the world. In fact, he did own a lot in front of others; shopping complexes, properties being rented out, and stocks and shares in major corporations gave him the juice he needed to brag beyond necessity.
There is nothing wrong in feeling successful, whether you literally are or not. However, bragging only goads others. In other words, it provokes others when there is someone else around them blowing their own trumpet. Whether others get envious or not, perhaps braggers influence hate towards themselves. Better to be humble and withstand the temptation of bragging.
Although many people consider “envy” and “jealousy” synonymous, they actually have distinct meanings. Envy is “the painful feeling of wanting what someone else has, like attributes or possessions.” If you're jealous, you feel “threatened, protective, or fearful of losing one's position or situation to someone else.”
Jealousy and envy both involve a feeling of desire for what another person has, but jealousy is usually thought to be more negative; it often involves resentment toward the other person. Envy is also a negative feeling like a mix of admiration and discontent, but the word doesn't usually imply hostility.
A little man then is someone who cannot contain his emotions. I’ve been guilty of it myself, however, my journey encourages me to keep trying to improve. If we aspire to make improvements in our lives, we can only become better people.
Have a great day!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Peers (n) = aristocracies, nobles, aristocrats, upper class, landed gentry, lords, earls
Boasted (v) = bragged, crowed, show off, blow your own horn or trumpet, sing your own praises
Pretentiousness (n) = self-importance, posing, pompousness, display
Brag (v) = say something in a boastful manner. As a noun it means a gambling card game which is a simplified form of poker. "Games of pontoon, brag, and poker were played regularly." It can also mean a boastful statement; an act of talking boastfully. "He was not the kind of man to make a brag." US use in informally as in: excellent; first-rate, “That was my brag heifer.” The French say, “braguer” gabar-se.
Goad (v) = to provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate some action or reaction. “He to more daring revelations." Also drive or urge (an animal) on with a goad. "The cowboys goaded their cattle across the meadows" As a noun: goads a spiked stick used for driving cattle. (syn) spur, prick, prod, egg on, hound, badger, incite, rouse, stir, move, motivate, excite, pressurize, impel, prompt, inflame, induce, inspire
Envious (adj) = jealous, resentful, spiteful, begrudging, green, green with envy