"WHAT I WANT IS WHAT I NEED! IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING OR ANYONE, I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE, HOW IT AFFECTS ANYTHING OR ANYONE, OR IF IT'S RIGHT OR WRONG, OR EVEN IF IT'S GOOD FOR ME OR NOT, AND WHOEVER SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE IN MY WAY BETWEEN ME AND WHAT I WANT IS GOING TO GET PLOWED OVER."
~Sincerely, any given Narcissist
The definition of "Narcissism" refers to being enamored with one's self. So the classical and original definition is talking about a person who is so obsessed with his or her own self that he or she is oblivious to the rest of the world and the people in it. Like when we are so focused on something that the rest of the world "fades away", but the thing that Narcissists are focused on like that is their own self. Love of their own self, admiration of their own self, adulation and adoration of their own self, the way movie stars are often humorously depicted.
That's the original, classical definition. So a person in this definition could be a "Narcissist", but never hurt a soul, except for the lack of reciprocation in personal relationships. But if no one chose to be in a relationship with this person, then no one would get hurt. You can picture them in their dressing room, or in their office, or in their home, preening in front of the mirror, making goo-goo eyes, winking, and blowing air kisses at themselves. This kind of Narcissist doesn't have the time or the desire to go out of their way to hurt someone else, they just want to be loved. They may live alone, or have a servant staff, and they might fire servants who aren't up to the task of being very good at their jobs, or who display disrespect or disdain (which is unprofessional anyway). But they may take very good "care" of their servants too, and still be this kind of Narcissist. Their main "fault" is that they're unaware of any reality that is outside of their own personal experience, and therefore will not even KNOW that someone else might need support or help, or even friendship, that they could be giving.
So this is the basic definition of Narcissism. Being enamored with one's self exclusively.
The Narcissism that is most often written about and talked about currently is not that definition, but a more active and hostile kind. This person may or may not be "in love" with themselves, but they see others as "below" them. They treat others like they are lesser creatures than themselves, and hold themselves up above. They are reactive, hostile, and try to MAKE others give them what they want, whatever that may be. They seem to think that the only purpose that most other people are on earth is "lower" than their own purpose, and are there to serve them. To give them what they desire, what they demand, what they need, and what they want, and give it NOW. People who don't seem to fill a purpose for the narcissist are looked at as "useless" and barely real.
Some narcissists, but not all, see other living creatures this way too; they're only good for what the Narcissist can use them for. If they can't use them for something, they might as well be wiped out. Some even get pleasure out of killing, and rationalize it by saying "it had to be done", which they know full well is b.s., they just enjoyed the act of destroying something that was alive. (That's sociopath domination behavior. If you have an ant infestation in your house, you do something about it, you might have to exterminate if nothing else works; if you go killing ants that live away from anyone's home, that's something completely different.)
Many narcissists will destroy a natural environment, a local ecosystem, the last remnant of land in a given town, or fill in a natural water body in order to build something for themselves. There could be 10 vacant buildings in the same town, but they won't use them. They might also destroy a historic landmark to build their own thing on that site, instead of using another site somewhere else. They'll rationalize and justify it somehow....But it's quite obviously a simple apish display of "domination" and "power".
On the flip side of that, other Narcissists who's agenda is "save the environment" will attack others, or destroy the businesses and lives of people, purposely, in order to "demonstrate" their "cause". They will even endanger the lives of animals they're supposedly "saving" by letting them go free in a world where they will starve or be killed.
The fact is there are quite a few narcissistic people, a lot more than the published statistics. It takes different forms because of the different desires that each individual Narcissist has. It always come down to one thing: "WHAT I WANT AND WHAT I NEED ARE THE SAME THING! AND IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING OR ANYONE, I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE, HOW IT AFFECTS ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE, OR IF IT'S RIGHT OR WRONG, OR EVEN IF IT'S GOOD FOR ME OR NOT, AND WHOEVER SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE IN MY WAY BETWEEN ME AND WHAT I WANT IS GOING TO GET PLOWED OVER, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE."
~Sincerely, any given Narcissist
The definition of "Narcissism" refers to being enamored with one's self. So the classical and original definition is talking about a person who is so obsessed with his or her own self that he or she is oblivious to the rest of the world and the people in it. Like when we are so focused on something that the rest of the world "fades away", but the thing that Narcissists are focused on like that is their own self. Love of their own self, admiration of their own self, adulation and adoration of their own self, the way movie stars are often humorously depicted.
That's the original, classical definition. So a person in this definition could be a "Narcissist", but never hurt a soul, except for the lack of reciprocation in personal relationships. But if no one chose to be in a relationship with this person, then no one would get hurt. You can picture them in their dressing room, or in their office, or in their home, preening in front of the mirror, making goo-goo eyes, winking, and blowing air kisses at themselves. This kind of Narcissist doesn't have the time or the desire to go out of their way to hurt someone else, they just want to be loved. They may live alone, or have a servant staff, and they might fire servants who aren't up to the task of being very good at their jobs, or who display disrespect or disdain (which is unprofessional anyway). But they may take very good "care" of their servants too, and still be this kind of Narcissist. Their main "fault" is that they're unaware of any reality that is outside of their own personal experience, and therefore will not even KNOW that someone else might need support or help, or even friendship, that they could be giving.
So this is the basic definition of Narcissism. Being enamored with one's self exclusively.
The Narcissism that is most often written about and talked about currently is not that definition, but a more active and hostile kind. This person may or may not be "in love" with themselves, but they see others as "below" them. They treat others like they are lesser creatures than themselves, and hold themselves up above. They are reactive, hostile, and try to MAKE others give them what they want, whatever that may be. They seem to think that the only purpose that most other people are on earth is "lower" than their own purpose, and are there to serve them. To give them what they desire, what they demand, what they need, and what they want, and give it NOW. People who don't seem to fill a purpose for the narcissist are looked at as "useless" and barely real.
Some narcissists, but not all, see other living creatures this way too; they're only good for what the Narcissist can use them for. If they can't use them for something, they might as well be wiped out. Some even get pleasure out of killing, and rationalize it by saying "it had to be done", which they know full well is b.s., they just enjoyed the act of destroying something that was alive. (That's sociopath domination behavior. If you have an ant infestation in your house, you do something about it, you might have to exterminate if nothing else works; if you go killing ants that live away from anyone's home, that's something completely different.)
Many narcissists will destroy a natural environment, a local ecosystem, the last remnant of land in a given town, or fill in a natural water body in order to build something for themselves. There could be 10 vacant buildings in the same town, but they won't use them. They might also destroy a historic landmark to build their own thing on that site, instead of using another site somewhere else. They'll rationalize and justify it somehow....But it's quite obviously a simple apish display of "domination" and "power".
On the flip side of that, other Narcissists who's agenda is "save the environment" will attack others, or destroy the businesses and lives of people, purposely, in order to "demonstrate" their "cause". They will even endanger the lives of animals they're supposedly "saving" by letting them go free in a world where they will starve or be killed.
The fact is there are quite a few narcissistic people, a lot more than the published statistics. It takes different forms because of the different desires that each individual Narcissist has. It always come down to one thing: "WHAT I WANT AND WHAT I NEED ARE THE SAME THING! AND IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING OR ANYONE, I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE, HOW IT AFFECTS ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE, OR IF IT'S RIGHT OR WRONG, OR EVEN IF IT'S GOOD FOR ME OR NOT, AND WHOEVER SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE IN MY WAY BETWEEN ME AND WHAT I WANT IS GOING TO GET PLOWED OVER, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE."
