T'was The Night of Thanksgiving
And All Through The House
Without a doubt from the welcoming of new faces to enjoying the day with family that is just growing up, from a wonderful dinner to home videos from years gone by, it was just a special time. I trust yours was as well and a few new memories to tack on older ones were created.
There’s really been no reason to concern yourself with the “markets” as these few days are given to us all to rest. I’ll have a “paid for” update on Sunday as the world itself is spinning and there is much to consider. For this article I’m going to stick with what I started earlier this week and define a couple “emotional influences” everybody should be aware of and avoid at all costs.
Narcisism
Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. People need and seek far too much attention and want others to admire them. They lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.
A narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in relationships, work, school or financial matters. People with “narcissistic disorders” are unhappy and disappointed when they're not given the special favors or admiration that they believe they deserve. They may find their relationships troubled and unfulfilling, and other people may not enjoy being around them. Symptoms of narcissistic disorder and how severe they are can vary. People with the disorder can:
Have an unreasonably high sense of self-importance and require constant, excessive admiration.
Feel that they deserve privileges and special treatment.
Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements.
Make achievements and talents seem bigger than they are.
Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate.
Believe they are superior to others and can only spend time with or be understood by equally special people.
Be critical of and look down on people they feel are not important.
Expect special favors and expect other people to do what they want without questioning them.
Take advantage of others to get what they want.
Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others.
Be envious of others and believe others envy them.
Behave in an arrogant way, brag a lot and come across as conceited.
Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office.
At the same time, people with narcissistic personality disorder have trouble handling anything they view as criticism. They can:
Become impatient or angry when they don't receive special recognition or treatment.
Have major problems interacting with others and easily feel slighted.
React with rage or contempt and try to belittle other people to make themselves appear superior.
Have difficulty managing their emotions and behavior.
Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change.
Withdraw from or avoid situations in which they might fail.
Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection.
Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, humiliation and fear of being exposed as a failure.
Once identified, between a “normal” person discussed earlier this week and others we speak of above, there’s only one solution for your well being; stay far away from them.
Machiavellianism
Is a tragic political philosophy named after and first posed by Niccolò Machiavelli in essence to preserve the integrity of a state the ruler should not feel himself bound by. Like any considerations of justice and humanity it’s too precious of an institution to endanger by scruples. In short it is narcissism on steroids.
It’s tough enough to try to deal with a narcissistic individual and as expressed above it is best to just stay away from them. Someone exhibiting Machiavellian tendencies are far worse. It’s their way or the highway and in a “functioning society” that trait, belief just has no place.
Perhaps the best example of a destructive Machiavellian premise resides in the basic example of the belief that, “if you listened to me you would have to agree”. Just think about those words in the context they are delivered; they’re really scary.
It’s bad enough that insecure people exhibit narcissistic tendencies. When tendencies of that nature are exhibited, often entertained then “thrust upon others” it becomes a lot worse and leads to the demise of the one generating such influences as it should.
Stay away from narcissistic individuals and pay no attention to those who exhibit far worse elements of Machiavellianism. Remember the ‘Wizard of Oz”, in particular the actual “Wizard” who was nothing more than “smoke and mirrors”, in essence phony. They are easy to spot and identify and above all best to avoid.
So it’s a football weekend from college to the pros with a few high school playoffs to be decided. It’s nice to live in these “United States” and better to be in Texas, We all need to be thankful for what we have and that is what this weekend is all about. It is not just about the Pilgrims and the Indians. It’s about how we treat each other, just whom we determine worhty of our time and above all who we choose to avoid and stay far away from. Everybody makes choices in their lives and that’s more than acceptable where I come from. The problem arises when those who have made choices do not see the underlying difficulty of decisions they’ve made. For shame, a curse on your house as those truly understanding and accepting of who they are simply avoid you and they are right in doing so. If they are smart they always will.
Check back over the weekend for a paid version where I actually talk about “what’s next” in the investment world. While little has changed we’ve experienced some very major political changes worldwide. I’ve listened to how, if at all, they’ve been reported and what their implications are. I trust you have as well so we can compare notes.
Being far too familiar with the effects of narcissistic personalities I’ve been aware of Odetari’s “Narcissistic Personality Disorder” and despite it’s difficulty to understand thought to bring it to your direct attention. I went a “step forward” with delivering its lyrics for you. Everybody knows someone who for whatever reason thinks they are on the “right” side of everything. Everybody also knows these “self-serving” individuals are not. While avoiding individuals of this nature like the plague, I’ve often wondered why others are attracted to them. It seems those types of people are equally unable to fit into the “norm of society” thus continue to seek an environment within which they can perceive their own security. They’re preaching to the choir; too bad it’s not deaf.