This originates with people who still define themselves by others, or based on their ego sources.
people who still wait for acknowledgement from others are people who wait for people to love them, who worry way to much what to wear and how are others are going to love this outfit or this makeup of this shirt etc..they want to be called funny, or cute, they doneverything with a cause to be accepted by others.
People who define themselves by ego sources, are those who define themselves by their colleage degrees ( you th when they like to be called "professor" or "engineer" or "doctor"), or by their origins ( im asian, im american, im arab, im french) or by their belongings or properties ( i have a mercedes, i own a big house by the lake), or even by their religion ( im muslim, im christian, im buddist)...MAKE NO MISTAKE, THERE IS NO PROBLEM HAVING OR BEING ANY OF THE ABOVE, IT BECOMES A PROBLEM WHEN:
"IT MAKES YOU FEEL "BETTER" THAN ANYONE ELSE" if it makes you feel that way then you know you are literally feeding you ego.
Both ways; your internal peace is always compromised, cause you externalizing the power.
When you realize that the power is inside you, you are responsible of making youself happy, not your wife, not your husband, not your job, not your kids..it is your own decision to make, you are responsible for staying peaceful and calm...in a zen state, if anyone takes you out - which may happen- it's your responsibility to get back to the ZEN. And gou get back by knowing what they did to make you upset or angry has nothing to do with you, you dont have to defend yourself, you dont have to explain yourself except for few cases. It's their right to think whatever they want about you, not your right to tell them what to think...
let them be themselves, and you be yourself