Feeling that you are above other people and far better than them in all ramifications, is a kind of cheap way of building self esteem because the concept is so vague that anyone can build their own subjective case on why they are superior. People can decide to pick a trait in which they are strong in or at and decide to use it as an indicator of ‘betterness’ and use it as a yardstick of being superior to others. In this case, a smart person can tell themselves they are better because they are intelligent while on the other hand an illiterate can also say they are better off than the literate because despite them being illiterate they have all the street smartness and can still survive in the same world as the literate. So in this case who is more superior to whom?
Feeling arrogantly alienated and falsely superior to others may make you feel better but it will only put a wedge between you and people around. Most times feeling superior is based on lack of perspective. Of course you might be better off than some people in some aspects but definitely not everyone. It is easy to believe that you are that special breed or that special flower you think everyone wants to have a piece of but in reality, you can actually see that you are just as equal as every other person or even less in terms of their achievements. If you give the people you think you are superior to the benefit of the doubt, you will find out that they are more layered and even more intelligent than you actually thought there are.
Some people have the notion that there is something wrong with everyone else as they feel that no one is never as good as they are. They try not to hang around such people let alone befriend them.
To some degree, everyone once in a while feels above the crowd sometimes but when we decide to make it a stagnant way of life then it becomes a problem. In this case we find out that we are quick to judge the behavior of others and conclude that they are inferior to us and do not deserve to be where we are. The feeling of superiority to others is a momentary tool for self value and safety but then it is not a good avenue for permanent self esteem.
Being proud and confident of yourself is by no way a sin, we all need these qualities to get by in the world anyway. But feeling arrogant and superior towards others is an uncalled and annoying trait to exhibit. Selfish pride they say is deeply rooted in vanity. There is thin line between being confident and being arrogantly superior to others. When you act superior to others it clearly shows you have some self esteem issues that hinder you from interacting with people effectively.
Always try to keep in mind that no matter how intellectually superior you perceive yourself to be, there is always someone out there who is actually more intellectually superior than you. Remember also that even if you are in some ways superior to some peoples, there are others who will be superior to you in some ways.
Try to let go arrogance and the vanity of superiority; remember all these only breed stupidity in even the most intelligent people.