Day Nine - Scar
31 Days of Spooky Symbols
Oh I do love villains, and this one’s a doozy. Phew.
Scar from The Lion King is the poster child (lion?) for the fear of inadequacy. His whole story is fueled by the core wound of “not enoughness.” He isn’t as strong, admired, or beloved as Mufasa, and he funnels that wounded ego into a frenzy of chasing the crown, not because he wants it, but in the hope it will prove his worth.
Does anyone else find themselves chasing something they don’t want just so it makes them feel good enough in some way? That’s how I ended up as a tenure-track professor for a bit. I never intended to go that route after my PhD, but I thought that was the only prestigious job to have.
Scar has a vitriolic wit, which is a mask for his own self-loathing. In this way, like the Queen we learned about yesterday, he’s a Shadow Ruler, an archetype who grasps for control when they feel powerless within. The Queen had her poisoned apple; Scar, his venomous tongue.
We learn more about Scar (or Taka) in the Mufasa prequel, discovering that his father continually pitted him against Mufasa, which only wounds him further. As his feelings of inadequacy grow, so does his resentment, and he can only see one way out—betrayal.
Fear of inadequacy is one of the top fears we all have, and it often manifests as a frantic need for approval. It can be external--needing reassurance from others that you are good enough. Or it can be internal--comparing yourself to others (“At least I’m not like those people...”)
We see this fear a lot in hustle culture, overworking from a feeling of shame and self-doubt and from a need to avoid all of those feelings by staying busy. But it can also look like
Repeatedly checking with people before making a decision
Avoiding people who excel at something that’s hard for you
Ruminating on past mistakes
Bullying ourselves (and others)
It’s normal to feel inadequate from time to time. If we leave these feelings unchecked, though, we create a cruel Shadow Ruler in our heads, and it will eventually become out of control.
The good news is that practicing compassion and adopting a growth mindset can help improve our self-perception. We learn who we are, not in light of someone else or what we do. Instead, we learn that we are enough.