@gratefulforitall + @hazelpazel - I'm struggling with this one. I have a preconceived notion that upvoting your own posts is not admirable - you're not contributing to the quality, diversity, and universal curation of the platform by upvoting yourself. I can't judge someone who does, but what this does for me is make me wonder what else is the benefit for having a high vote value? Here's what I've found:

• You can curate great posts, boost other Steemians, and generally invest in the platform in a bigger way. The outcome is basically a better, more mature Steemit.
• Your reputation tends to follow your wallet growth (until you plateau where the only thing that boosts your reputation is actually that: the engagement of others), and with a higher reputation, you gain more respect, more followers, and potentially more engagement on your posts overall. This leads to higher earnings per post.
• You can join groups and communities that make Steemit better, more inclusive, better quality, etc because you have more power.

How does Superman personally benefit from having superpowers​? Good feels and good friends.

That's all this beginner has come up with so far!