[musings on charisma]
What is charisma? Everyone has, without fail, experienced it at some point in his or her lives, and every person probably sees some example of it every day. It is an intrinsic piece of social interaction, and it plays a key role in determining social ranking. It is difficult to ascertain precisely what charisma is, but it is necessary, nevertheless, to outline it to some degree so as to provide grounding for the thoughts surrounding it and its effects. So, for the sake of simplicity and logical presentation, we will begin to attempt to understand what charisma is before we venture any further into our musings.
Charisma is something within or about an individual that attracts other people. Someone without any charisma whatsoever is repulsive to most people, and someone with large amounts of charisma will most often be attractive, whether platonically or sexually, to most people. The effects of charisma, however, are dependent on what sort of charisma is the focus of contemplation. There is charisma that is grounded in sexuality and passion, which must not be confused with false charisma. There is false charisma, as I have chosen to call it, which will be explained in more detail later, but is, in essence, a charisma that is based purely on good looks and physical attractiveness and not at all on personality. There is true charisma, which is charisma that is directly tied to an individual’s personality, and true charisma can encompass many other sorts of charisma, such as sexual charisma. Every sort of charisma does not affect everyone, and not everyone sees every sort of charisma. However, charisma still plays an intrinsic role in social interactions and social status.
Does a high level of charisma translate to high status? It appears so. An individual with large amounts of charisma is almost without fail discovered to have high status within the context of a group of people. However, one can have high status without having high levels of charisma, but it is practically impossible to have both low status and high charisma. A high level of charisma grants a person high status because it affects the way others perceive the individual with high status. Therefore, if one has high levels of charisma, one is granted high status. However, the “if, then” statement does not hold true in reverse. One can still have high status without having charisma, but it is not unconsciously granted the way it is given to an individual with a high level of charisma. If a person has exceedingly high levels of charisma, they do not lower other's status, but they are simply given higher status by others.
Is true charisma actually just an extremely interesting personality, or does it hold something outside of that? I suppose, in order to begin to comprehend that, I must define what I mean by “true charisma”. True charisma is a charisma that comes from within the individual and is not tied to social circumstance or physical beauty. It is, in a sense, the opposite of false charisma, which is a sort of charisma that tends to be possessed by individuals who are extremely physically attractive and have created a charisma of sorts that is completely dependent on that. If it is just tied to physical beauty, and simply constructed out of that, it is false charisma because it is not truly a part of the person's essence, but rather a part of their attitude and is dependent completely on their looks.
However, false charisma must not be understood to be merely a side effect of exceedingly good looks. An individual can possess extremely good looks, and yet not have false charisma. False charisma can also be connected to other physical attributes. For instance, one can posses a sort of false charisma that is attached to possessing large amounts of money. False charisma is, in essence, a sort of charisma that is tied directly to a physical attribute and not to an individual’s personality. Hence, any sort of attribute that a person possesses that makes them attractive to others can become the grounding for false charisma. True charisma is rather intrinsically tied to an individual’s personality. However, it can be lost or lessened over time. An individual can change in ways that lessen or increase their charisma, but, generally, once someone has exceedingly high levels of charisma they will not dip below an average level of charisma. If someone has large amounts of charisma, it is well nigh impossible for them to lose it.
Now that the two opposite ends of charisma have been outlined and explained to a minor degree, one can look at the different layers of charisma that exist in between those two extremes. There’s the middle, wherein the majority of the population lies. Most people simply have enough charisma to interact with people on a day-to-day basis. The majority of people lie between the two extremes, and constitute what is considered an average amount of charisma. An average amount of charisma allows an individual to function within society and neither impresses nor repulses people. Any less than the average amount of charisma and the individual begins to repulse others, and any more than the average amount results in the individual beginning to actively attract other individuals.
A certain amount of charisma is somewhat of a prerequisite for functioning socially. This is not say, however, that charisma indicates social skills because it is possible for an individual to posses an exceedingly high level of charisma without actually having social skills. However, charisma is often indicated by an individual’s ability to function socially regardless of whether or not they actually desire to participate in said interactions. It is quite possible for an individual to possess large amounts of charisma and yet be disinclined to spend time with people. However, these individuals can easily, and probably without realizing it, interact with other people and have high status within the context of a group of people. This ties directly into what was said earlier about how simply by possessing high levels of charisma an individual is given high status by those who surround him or her.
Charisma plays directly into social interactions because it is there that the effects of charisma manifest themselves. One will often discover that people will flock to individuals who posses large amounts of charisma. Yet, these individuals do not grab power from those around them, but are rather granted it, thereby allowing them to lead a group of people without it being consciously realized by most of individuals involved, including the charismatic individual. True charisma does not usually inspire envy because it is so natural and because it does not actually steal status but simply is granted it. Hence, someone with true charisma is generally more attractive than someone who only possesses physical beauty because it is something that is granted rather than taken. True charisma generally showers lightly on those around it, so individuals will often flock to those with high charisma not only because they are attractive, but also because this individual will unconsciously attempt to share their power. This does not always hold true though because there is a sort of vicious charisma that attracts people and seems to force people to admire it. However, it is important to realize that charisma never seizes power because once it does it ceases to be charisma and becomes something completely different. Charisma inspires others to grant power to the individual who possesses it, but it never seizes it.
Charisma is something within or about an individual that attracts other people. Someone without any charisma whatsoever is repulsive to most people, and someone with large amounts of charisma will most often be attractive, whether platonically or sexually, to most people. The effects of charisma, however, are dependent on what sort of charisma is the focus of contemplation. There is charisma that is grounded in sexuality and passion, which must not be confused with false charisma. There is false charisma, as I have chosen to call it, which will be explained in more detail later, but is, in essence, a charisma that is based purely on good looks and physical attractiveness and not at all on personality. There is true charisma, which is charisma that is directly tied to an individual’s personality, and true charisma can encompass many other sorts of charisma, such as sexual charisma. Every sort of charisma does not affect everyone, and not everyone sees every sort of charisma. However, charisma still plays an intrinsic role in social interactions and social status.
Does a high level of charisma translate to high status? It appears so. An individual with large amounts of charisma is almost without fail discovered to have high status within the context of a group of people. However, one can have high status without having high levels of charisma, but it is practically impossible to have both low status and high charisma. A high level of charisma grants a person high status because it affects the way others perceive the individual with high status. Therefore, if one has high levels of charisma, one is granted high status. However, the “if, then” statement does not hold true in reverse. One can still have high status without having charisma, but it is not unconsciously granted the way it is given to an individual with a high level of charisma. If a person has exceedingly high levels of charisma, they do not lower other's status, but they are simply given higher status by others.
Is true charisma actually just an extremely interesting personality, or does it hold something outside of that? I suppose, in order to begin to comprehend that, I must define what I mean by “true charisma”. True charisma is a charisma that comes from within the individual and is not tied to social circumstance or physical beauty. It is, in a sense, the opposite of false charisma, which is a sort of charisma that tends to be possessed by individuals who are extremely physically attractive and have created a charisma of sorts that is completely dependent on that. If it is just tied to physical beauty, and simply constructed out of that, it is false charisma because it is not truly a part of the person's essence, but rather a part of their attitude and is dependent completely on their looks.
However, false charisma must not be understood to be merely a side effect of exceedingly good looks. An individual can possess extremely good looks, and yet not have false charisma. False charisma can also be connected to other physical attributes. For instance, one can posses a sort of false charisma that is attached to possessing large amounts of money. False charisma is, in essence, a sort of charisma that is tied directly to a physical attribute and not to an individual’s personality. Hence, any sort of attribute that a person possesses that makes them attractive to others can become the grounding for false charisma. True charisma is rather intrinsically tied to an individual’s personality. However, it can be lost or lessened over time. An individual can change in ways that lessen or increase their charisma, but, generally, once someone has exceedingly high levels of charisma they will not dip below an average level of charisma. If someone has large amounts of charisma, it is well nigh impossible for them to lose it.
Now that the two opposite ends of charisma have been outlined and explained to a minor degree, one can look at the different layers of charisma that exist in between those two extremes. There’s the middle, wherein the majority of the population lies. Most people simply have enough charisma to interact with people on a day-to-day basis. The majority of people lie between the two extremes, and constitute what is considered an average amount of charisma. An average amount of charisma allows an individual to function within society and neither impresses nor repulses people. Any less than the average amount of charisma and the individual begins to repulse others, and any more than the average amount results in the individual beginning to actively attract other individuals.
A certain amount of charisma is somewhat of a prerequisite for functioning socially. This is not say, however, that charisma indicates social skills because it is possible for an individual to posses an exceedingly high level of charisma without actually having social skills. However, charisma is often indicated by an individual’s ability to function socially regardless of whether or not they actually desire to participate in said interactions. It is quite possible for an individual to possess large amounts of charisma and yet be disinclined to spend time with people. However, these individuals can easily, and probably without realizing it, interact with other people and have high status within the context of a group of people. This ties directly into what was said earlier about how simply by possessing high levels of charisma an individual is given high status by those who surround him or her.
Charisma plays directly into social interactions because it is there that the effects of charisma manifest themselves. One will often discover that people will flock to individuals who posses large amounts of charisma. Yet, these individuals do not grab power from those around them, but are rather granted it, thereby allowing them to lead a group of people without it being consciously realized by most of individuals involved, including the charismatic individual. True charisma does not usually inspire envy because it is so natural and because it does not actually steal status but simply is granted it. Hence, someone with true charisma is generally more attractive than someone who only possesses physical beauty because it is something that is granted rather than taken. True charisma generally showers lightly on those around it, so individuals will often flock to those with high charisma not only because they are attractive, but also because this individual will unconsciously attempt to share their power. This does not always hold true though because there is a sort of vicious charisma that attracts people and seems to force people to admire it. However, it is important to realize that charisma never seizes power because once it does it ceases to be charisma and becomes something completely different. Charisma inspires others to grant power to the individual who possesses it, but it never seizes it.