Narcissistic Quotes For When Its All About You
Narcissistic quotes For When It’s All About You
Love yourself more fully in a healthy way with our Narcissus quotes.
The Greek story of Narcissus explores the limits of human vanity.
Check out our Narcissus quotes and learn how that ancient legend impacts today’s world.
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What is the story of Narcissus?
There are several versions of the story of Narcissus.
The themes of the stories are the same, but the way the stories play out differs.
Here are some quick facts about the story of Narcissus:
- Today, a narcissistic personality is a person who is self-centered and arrogant.
- Ancient Greeks believed looking at your reflection in the water was terrible luck.
- In the older original story, Narcissus refuses the love of a man named Ameinias.
One of the original stories of Narcissus was told by the poet Ovid.
In Ovid’s version, Narcissus was fathered by a river god and a nymph named Liriope.
A prophet told Liriope that Narcissus would reach old age if he failed to recognize himself.
Narcissus matured into a handsome young man who was fawned over by everyone looking at him.
The problem was that Narcissus refused to return his affection to anyone.
Echo was a beautiful nymph who could only repeat the sounds of others.
Narcissus rejected Echo, breaking her heart.
The gods determined that Narcissus could never have anything that he loved.
While hunting, Narcissus bent down in the river to drink and fell in love with his reflection.
He was so awed he could not move.
And he loved what he saw so much that he reached out to grab it but could not.
He was wasted away by the water, and nymphs mourned his death.
The nymphs marked his grave and covered his body with their hair.
A flower grew at the grave when they returned to pay their respect.
What can we learn from the story of Narcissus and Echo?
One lesson we can learn from Narcissus is about vanity, which many people struggle with.
Narcissus was so vain that he never allowed anyone in because he always assumed there would be another, more potentially beautiful suitor to come for him.
The story of Narcissus and Echo has many teachable moments we can learn from.
One of the story’s central themes is to be mindful of the trap of self-adoration.
Self-love is not the same as conceit.
We should all love ourselves and treat ourselves with respect and care.
However, if we become conceited, we are no longer exhibiting self-love.
Loving ourselves should not have to come at the expense of anyone else.
Narcissus failed to respond to anyone’s affection; his conceit caused him to reject even the purest love from Echo.
Short narcissistic quotes about the nature of narcissism
Some say it takes a narcissist to know a narcissist; these quotes support that notion.
1. “A narcissist wants you to adopt his version of himself.” — Hart Pomerantz
2. “Meditation is a way to be narcissistic without hurting anyone.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3. “Narcissists install a mental filter in our heads a little bit at a time” — Sam Vakin
4. “The greater our own level of narcissism, the more we detest it in others.” — Steve Maraboli
5. “You give up your narcissism, your egotism. That’s how you achieve chemistry.” — Nick Nolte
6. “A victim of circumstance is a casualty. A victim of convenience is a narcissist.” — Alan Robert Neal
7. “Narcissists look for new victims for the same reason that tigers look for new prey.” ― Sam Vaknin
8. “In the early stages of narcissist abuse, you will be angry enough to think crazy things.” ― Tracy Malone
9. “Before you think you are surrounded by idiots, make sure that you don’t suffer from narcissism.” ― Giannis Delimitsos
10. “I mean, if a narcissist can’t recognize he’s a narcissist, how on earth do you treat his narcissism?” ― Elle Kennedy
The top narcissistic quotes and sayings questioning the motives of others
Could it be true that everyone is a bit of a narcissist?
These quotes question that line of thinking.
11. “Regrets? I think everyone has regrets, and people who say they haven’t are either liars or narcissists.” — Lee Radiziwill
12. “Until we can uninstall the narcissist filter, our actions are controlled by narcissists to some degree.” — Sam Vaknin
13. “Underneath the so-called narcissistic personality is definitely shame and the paralyzing fear of being ordinary.” — Brené Brown
14. “Ultimately, there is no power to narcissistic, self-indulgent thinking. Authentic thinking originates with an encounter with the world.” — Abraham Joshua Heschel
15.”’ If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing,’ the final expression of narcissism, the last gesture of self-congratulation.” — Steve Erickson
16. “Narcissists are like parasitic bugs that leech onto you and essentially suck the life out of you, then when you are no longer useful, they discard you.” — Silvi Saxena
17. “I can never tell what I’m doing when I’m in the middle of publication because I have no confidence. I have terrible self-esteem, along with boundless narcissism.” — Anne Lamott
18. “Learning to spot narcissists and deal with their destructive behavior can save you the world of hurt that awaits anyone who mistakes the near enemy for a friend.” — Martha Beck
19. “That’s what modern narcissism really is; a pernicious mix of qualities defined by three words that start with self: selfishness, self-absorption, and self-importance.” ― David Sirota
20. “We’re stronger and braver together. Do not let this world and this narcissistic culture make competitors out of the very people who are meant to be your comrades in arms.” — Beth Moore
The best narcissistic quotes about the nature of love
Narcissism and love go hand in hand in some relationships.
Check out these quotes to find out why.
21. “The ability to love depends on one’s capacity to emerge from narcissism.” ― Erich Fromm
22. “Self-love forever creeps out, like a snake, to sting anything which happens to stumble upon it.” — Lord Byron
23. “I have always been suspicious of romantic love. It looks too much like a narcissism shared by two.” — Rita Mae Brown
24. “It is especially painful when narcissists suffer memory loss because they are losing parts of the person they love most.” — David Brooks
25. “Leave your pride, ego, and narcissism somewhere else. Reactions from those parts of you will reinforce your children’s most primitive fears.” — Henry Cloud
26. “That probably greatest of narcissistic wounds — not to have been loved just as one truly was — cannot heal without the work of mourning.” — Alice Miller
27. “The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming and seeks to be feared rather than loved.” — Bertrand Russell
28. “Although they love adoration, the worst pain for a narcissist is to not be noticed. They will say or do outrageous things to be noticed if they are feeling ignored.” — Dian Grier, LCSW
29. “The child is love-bombed when the narcissist feels the child reflects their false self. The moment the child fails to do so, the narcissistic parent blithely discards them.” ― M. Wakefield
30. “Narcissist: psychoanalytic term for the person who loves himself more than his analyst; considered to be the manifestation of a dire mental disease whose successful treatment depends on the patient learning to love the analyst more and himself less.” — Thomas Szasz
Narccisitic quotes and sayings to live by
Below are some interesting takes on the narcissistic thoughts
31. “As individuals and as a nation, we now suffer from social narcissism.” — Daniel J. Boorstin
32. “I wonder if the course of narcissism through the ages would have been any different had Narcissus first peered into a cesspool. He probably did.” ― Frank O’Hara
33. “When dealing with a narcissist who knows no boundaries in his demands, make space for yourself by saying “no” in a kind manner in moments of calm.” ― Mark Ettensohn
34. “A Narcissist will never admit they have a problem; if confronted with their own bad behavior, they will do their very best to make people believe they are the victim.” ― Harvey Stuarts
35. “The best strategy is to make the narcissist feel wanted, and “Narcissism really spreads its wings and soars on Twitter. It’s like watching a dragon hatch and learn to fly.” — Dave Anthony
More narcissistic quotes to learn from
Learn more about what narcissists are like in the following quotes.
36. “If people are really narcissistic or have a need to be seen as more than they really are, or to be admired as having it all together, then they cannot be followed and trusted by others.” — Henry Cloud
37. “The very wealthy and the very famous have a much closer affinity with the indigent street person than with the rest of us. There’s the narcissism, the addiction, and even the outlandish dress.” — Drew Pinsky
38. “Throughout most of our history, nothing, not flood, famine, plague, or new weapons, has endangered humanity one-tenth as much as the narcissistic ego, with its self-aggrandizing presumptions and its hell-hound spawn of fear and greed.” — Tom Robbins
39. “Meeting negativity with more negativity fuels the narcissist’s need to defend. Instead, defuse the interaction by acting on insight and attempt to make your own needs known in a calm, non-confrontational way.” ― Mark Ettensohn
40. “There’s a definition of narcissism that when a parent is narcissistic, instead of the child seeing himself reflected in the mother’s face and the mother’s joy, the child of the narcissistic parent feels like, ‘What can I do to make her okay, to make her happy?’” — Susan Sullivan
Deep narcissistic quotes about self-deception and humility
A significant element of narcissism is the need to lie to oneself and others.
41. “A lot of rappers are narcissistic, but I do my best to stay humble.” — RZA
42. “Narcissism has more in common with self-hatred than with self-admiration.” — Christopher Lasch
43. “Withhold admiration from a narcissist and be disliked. Give it and be treated with indifference.” — Mason Cooley
44. “Narcissism and self-deception are survival mechanisms without which many of us might just jump off a bridge.” — Todd Solondz
45. “Most of the narcissists are geniuses and masters of Psychology. But they are using their knowledge to eradicate, rather than to help humanity.” ― Mwanandeke Kindembo
46. “The ultimate obscenity is not caring, not doing something about what you feel, not feeling! Just drawing back and drawing in; becoming narcissistic.” — Rod Serling
47. “Vanity and narcissism: the compulsive need to be admired and praised, undermine one’s courage, for one then fights on someone else’s conviction rather than one’s own.” — Rollo May
48. “Seeking admiration is like a drug for narcissists. In the long run, it becomes difficult because others won’t applaud them, so they always have to search for new acquaintances from whom they get the next fix.” — Mitja D. Back
49. “America was built on rugged individualism, and today that has evolved into a culture of narcissism. But God didn’t create you to live for you. If you want to follow Jesus, you have to put aside your selfish ambition.” — Rick Warren
50. “The narcissist, cut off from her spirituality, is one who spends unquantifiable energy supporting and maintaining and utterly and completely fake self, in denial of one’s true self, trading it for glamour to compensate for a core of being that is simply wracked, a deep, dark, cold void.” ― Stacey Scott Mae
How does the story of Narcissus apply to us today?
We live in a world where conventional wisdom is only sometimes appreciated.
People have lower attention spans, and many are often looking for the next cool thing.
Sometimes, looking to our past can provide wisdom to help us in the present.
Social media is popular among, but it forces more and more people to concern themselves about their physical appearance.
Vanity is the excessive pride or admiration of one’s appearance or achievements.
In a world where people use apps to alter their faces to make them seem more beautiful significantly, the story of Narcissus is more relevant than ever.
There is nothing wrong with improving ourselves.
Yet, learning to love and appreciate ourselves healthily means being content with who we are.
What is your favorite part about the story of Narcissus?
Do you have a favorite narcissistic quote?
Please be sure to let us know in the comment section below.
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