Originally posted by Matt Rogers
congratulations screw-it. You seem to have made significant strides to conquering narcissism. I only wish i could have the same success. I shall try and follow your approach and change my thought habits as that is the only way to change my life. Unfortunately the habits of self-consciousness and thinking too much are deeply ingrained in my personality so may take a bit of work.
Damn, this inner game stuff is hard. I am an intelligent guy and can "get" the ****y and funny pretty easily, understand girls much better, and have got the hang of how to flirt and talk to girls. I am a good actor and can put on a confident front and hide my insecurities pretty well-but i am sure they show. But it is proving to be a tough battle to overcome my insecurities, excessive self-consciousness and belief the world centres around me.
matt -
I assume you analyze things a lot? well that was one of my major problems. anyone that i saw, or situation i was in, i would overanalyze it and make quick judgements. "i dont like him, he acts like a ****, she's a lazy *****...
well All that was poison for hte mind, it fueled narcisism more with that type of thinking.
But anyway, narcisism is built strongly into one's personality, changing is easier said than done. and honestly, it wont be easy to change unless someone WANTS to get out of that state.
I dont know if this is exactly what happened, but i know this took part in helping cure narcisssm.
ACT AND YOU SHALL BECOME. There was this interested dude in one of my classes. As i got to know him he seemed to be the laid-back type, speaks clearly, coherently, and straight to the point. He didnt care about what ppl thought of him and spoke what wanted.
BAM guess what hit me? I admired the strenght of his character and personality, i wanted to be like that too.
since then until now, i incorporated much of his traits into my personality because i wanted change. My interactions with people slowly became more like his. and the way i dressed was more freely, i never wore a hoodie, a hat, nor a cap until now.
there are probably other influences other than his, but i strived for change and wanted to have true confidence (NOT the faked confidence used to cover my insecurities)
BUT
everynow and then, i had a taste of what it meant to be a non narcisist. The sleepless nights i had and having to wake up for morning class with a cup of coffee. During this very moment, I was temporarily cured.
i didnt give a crap about anything, cause i was so god damn sleepy and didnt have the energy to even be narcisist.
Although this was temporary, i knew how it felt...and it was gooooood.
LOOK AT YOU (in this case another narcisist) AND REALIZE HIS FLAWS.
One of my friends has a friend that comes hang out iwth us every once in awhile. He's an extreme. When he's walking, he looks down with an angry look on his face, he looks tense (uptight). Better yet, he looks ilke he's about to blow up and kill someone any minute. Although in reality he's very self conscios, lacks confidence, has an ugly gf, and talking for him is very tense & fast.
Whenever he'd come hang out with us, neither I nor my friend woudl talk to him much. He already looks uptight and angry, who'd want to talk to him. Would YOU?
want more examples? here it is -
this girl in my class is somewhat narcisistic and anyone who looks at her can tell she's uptight. no one wants to talk to her, or are afraid to (she might take it too seriously?)
Anyway my ****y profesor as always swears and calls ppl loser and critiques design work of his students as usual. he even swears at me usually. he likes to joke around with us. With this chick, he wont do it one bit cause he's afraid she'll break down and cry or something!!!
the thing is he's afraid she'll take it seriously and personally.
So i got a chance to see how people interacted with him and how he interacted with others. And i came to realization why my friends barely talked to me in the past. CUZ I USED TO BE LIKE THAT!!
So to sum it up -
LOOK AT YOU. Look at another narcisist and how he interacts with people, it will give you a clear window view of how you really may be.
ACT AND YOU WILL BE. Find someone you want to be like or admire and Mimic his actions and personality. remember, Body language, facial expression (eyes, eyebrows, lips), the way you speak, the WAY YOU THINK (most important factor) is what must be changed.
HAVE FUN DONT TAKE LIFE SO SERIOUSLY! (oen of my problems in the past) someone would make a joke (about me) and i would take it too seriously. but now i just joke back with them and laugh. life is too short!
a small part of your personality will remain with you, as no personalty can change 100% completely. But it's up to you to how far you want to take the change!!
Good Luck and if you have any questions, pm me or something.