More Narcissism Is Needed

I keep hearing that this is a narcissistic culture and people should stop being so narcissistic. I disagree completely. If anything, we need a lot more narcissism. (I’m using the word “narcissism” here in the mass culture / Dr. Phil way of “excessive love of oneself and taking an interest in oneself to the exclusion of everything else.” Obviously, this is not even remotely what narcissism actually is but if that’s how most people choose to use the term, then whatever.)

I strongly believe that people would be happier and healthier, workplaces would be enormously more peaceful, and social relations would improve dramatically if people concentrated on themselves.

One quality that is sorely lacking even in the smartest, most brilliant and educated people is self-awareness. When I hear people say, “I’m the kind of person who. . .” or “My most important qualities are. . .”, I always know that something completely divorced from reality is about to be uttered.

If people stepped back from obsessing over what they imagine somebody thinks or says about them and turned inwards for answers to why these fantasies matter so much to them, they would be happier. If people could just do their work, get paid and then go the fuck home instead of fixating on ridiculous rumors or stupid drama in the workplace, life would be better for everybody.

I sometimes look at people and wonder, “Is what you carry inside yourself so horrible that you need to hide from it in all this hustle, bustle, and endless drama you generate around yourself?”

The incapacity to understand that the reasons for the fifteenth mean and greedy girlfriend (or the eleventh mean and nasty boss or the eighty-fifth mean and envious colleague) lie inside oneself makes people spend their lives – literally, their entire lives – bitching and moaning about the imperfections of the universe and never changing anything.

Narcissism, we need more narcissism! We need for everybody to turn inwards for two seconds and realize that we have all that we need for survival: food, water, shelter, relative health, somebody we love, books, pens, and paper. There is no reason not to feel at peace. There is no reason to freak out over anything because our basic needs are covered.