Being a narcissist could have some severe consequences. It could lead to losing friends and alienating family members. What’s worse is that narcissists destroy every relationship they have, whether personal, romantic, or professional. If you’re wondering where your narcissistic friend or family member is going wrong, it could be because they are committing one of these seven deadly sins.
1. Self-obsession, me-me-me
A narcissist loves himself/herself a lot and is in love with self. A narcissist is obsessed with himself/herself to the point of self-absorption. When you ask him how he is, instead of saying “I’m fine,” he is more likely to say: “I’m great, thank you. I’m better than fine. I’m fantastic! I’m the best! I am marvelous!” He might even exaggerate the truth and add: “I’m the most handsome man in the world.
I’m the best-dressed person. I’m the most charming and the most intelligent. And, of course, I’m incredibly lucky!” He is also likely to mention things he owns, such as his expensive car, or things he has accomplished, such as his degrees, job titles, or awards. He will also talk about his plans and future successes.
He’s so proud of himself that he even wants to show off his body, which is the reason why he works out at the gym and wears expensive, trendy clothes.
2. Inability to accept criticism
Narcissists don’t like criticism. They don’t like it at all. They don’t like it so much that they often lash out on the receiving end. They don’t view criticism as a gift to help them improve but rather an attack on themselves.
While most of us can get our feelings hurt when criticized, narcissists feel personally attacked. They don’t see criticism as an opportunity for growth but rather as a personal attack. It’s not that narcissists can’t take criticism. It’s that they can’t take it well.
The problem with criticizing narcissists is that they’re so self-absorbed that they don’t see anything wrong with themselves.
They believe they are perfect, so they don’t think they need to change. They’re often highly critical of others, but they never view their behavior as wrong. They see themselves as perfect and the other person’s behavior as the problem. This makes it difficult to point out their issues because they don’t see any.
3. Envy
Narcissists believe they’re perfect and deserve to be admired by others. But they can’t live up to their expectations, and they’re never able to fulfill their narcissistic needs. So they develop envy towards those who represent the things they lack.
According to Freud, the ultimate goal of a narcissist is to be admired by others and achieve a feeling of uniqueness and superiority.
He believes that we all have a certain amount of narcissism in us, but someone who is a narcissist cannot control his feelings of envy and is unable to love.
4. Entitlement
Entitlement is one of the hallmarks of people who have narcissistic personalities. Entitlement is very closely related to narcissism. Entitlement is the idea that you are better than others or deserve something better.
With narcissism, the narcissistic person has a sense of superiority over others. The narcissist believes that he or she is entitled to certain things because of this superiority, and the narcissist may feel that he or she deserves special treatment.
5. Exploitation of others
You can’t be a narcissist and not be aware of it. Yet, you wouldn’t be a narcissist if you didn’t exploit others for your gain. Exploitation is one of the seven deadly sins narcissists commit. It’s insidious because you can live with a narcissist and not realize that you’re being exploited.
This is because the narcissist is so charming and confident that he or she can sell anything to anyone. They are so convincing that you often will not know that you are being exploited until it’s too late. You need to know that narcissists exploit others for their own personal gain.
The narcissist does not care about the other person’s interests, needs, wants, or desires. The narcissist is only concerned with getting what he or she wants.
6. Disregard for others’ feelings
Narcissists are often very charming and outgoing, making it hard to believe that they could be so insensitive and unaware of others’ feelings. But narcissists are very prone to disregard others’ feelings.
They generally do not care about the resentment and anger of their victims. They are completely self-centered and feel entitled to whatever they can get.
The important thing to note about narcissism is that the narcissist does not recognize that other people’s feelings, wishes, and needs are just as important as his own.
Narcissists have no problem asking for the attention they crave from others, but they are completely incapable of giving the same attention to other people.
In other words, they can only think about their own needs. They are completely self-absorbed and completely unaware of other people’s needs. They are incapable of empathizing with others and have no sense of shame.
7. Arrogance
Arrogance is the act of having a high opinion of oneself, displaying behavior that revolves around this inflated ego. This behavior is most often seen in people with narcissistic personality disorder, and while they are often highly respected, they are also seen as the most disliked.
A study by Harvard Medical School showed that people with narcissistic personality disorder are universally disliked by their peers and are less likely to be promoted at work.
Last words
In the end, I’d like to remind you that it’s important to understand people around you a bit better. Most of us are more interested in ourselves, so it’s easy to forget that we’re all different from each other in our special way.
It’s also important to remember that narcissism is a spectrum disorder. We’re all a bit different in interacting with people, including how we think about ourselves.
So if you notice someone exhibiting some of the behaviors mentioned here or even worse, you should try to be patient with them and be open to connecting with them on a deeper level.
This will help you communicate more effectively and help you build better relationships with people around you.