I don’t think I’m ever going to understand willfully selfish and self-centered people.
I mean, I’m coming up on turning 40 in a few more years, and so far haven’t figured it out yet.
Even with the help of Google on top of prior knowledge through college psychology and sociology courses – I just find it personally impossible to be that kind of person.
Like, at any given moment, any human on this planet can have a selfish moment, and usually it’s fairly brief.
And, sure, sometimes it can even be accidental, unintentional, or even something that’s a failure to be recognized due to its own rarity.
Then there are the moments where a selfish someone nearly achieves Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder– or NPD - is a personality disorder characterized by a lifelong pattern of exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a diminished ability to empathize with other people’s feelings.
Beyond that, there are two main types of NPD persons – “Grandiose” and “Vulnerable” NPD patients.
Grandiose, or thick-skinned NPD patients tend to show a sense of superiority, attitudes of entitlement, a belief that others envy their abilities or status, low empathy, social dominance, superficial charm, snobbery, and an exploitative interpersonal style characterized by manipulation and selfishness.
Vulnerable, or thin-skinned individuals with NPD, also show entitlement, selfishness and low empathy, but uniquely demonstrate feelings of shame and inferiority, are envious of others’ abilities or status, tend to be shy, paranoid, vindictive, and emotionally dependent on admiration, and show extreme rage and hostility in response to rejection and criticism.
I don’t know how many people you know that might fit that definition, but I’m counting on both hands already, and that Google search only took about a minute.
It’s worth noting that NPD should really be diagnosed by professionals, but only by the patient who has the willingness to be tested and wants to address their issues.
But, I still feel like the folks that seem driven to make a career out of pursuing self-importance coupled with a sense of entitlement are arguably the worst.
Those people also appear to be continuous sources of frustration for everyone else who actually feels empathy consistently and has healthy boundaries and self-confidence.
I mean, I haven’t had to deal with any egocentrics that change their way voluntarily - yet.
More often than not, I’ve noticed that those with higher narcissistic tendencies have to learn things the hard way – even then, there’s no guarantee that will even work if they’re having full-on delusions.
And while it honestly irritates me to no end, it also reminds me of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
By far, I’m the last person to feed into someone’s delusions of grandeur when the truth is plain to see - self-absorbed people always seem Hell bent on putting themselves first based on their own overinflated egos.
I suppose that’s why a lot of them are in fields involving leadership roles, high-status positions, or jobs that offer opportunities for validation and control - you know, politics, business leaderships, CEO positions, law, and Hollywood.
Just some food for thought as we move through early voting this week to the May 3 General Election for City of Bay City, City of Palacios, Bay City ISD, and Palacios ISD.
