The comedian Louis CK has a great bit about how we overuse words. He mentions (and I'm going to butcher it) the word "Awesome" and goes on to say "Oh really? That sandwich you ate just inspired awe?" He's not LDS approved, so only listen to him if you can handle some R rated language. On this, he's exactly right and I'd like to add two more words to that list. Narcissist and genius.
No, your ex husband was not a narcissist. Narcissism is actually very rare and in it's pure form, it can be very dangerous. Just because he cheated on you and was a general bad guy that doesn't mean he was a narcissist. The other interesting thing? Not everyone you dislike is a narcissist either. I see this all the time. We are so quick to throw out labels to those we dislike that we ignore how powerful some of the words can be. In reality, you probably don't have the psychological training to identify who is a narcissists/sociopath/ etc.
It doesn't have to be negative. Lately, everyone is a genius. Just because you graduated college or you have intellectual pursuits does not make you a genius. I do hate to break it to you, but your child is probably not a genius either. Side note-I forget where I heard this, but someone said "Everyone thinks your first baby will solve world famine and cure cancer. In reality, you'll just be happy when they stop licking dirt off dog." The word genius and actual genius is incredibly rare and sometimes, incredibly harmful. When you have a particular skill that places you above everyone else-it can be very hard to manage. It's lonely at the top.
Louis CK is exactly right about this.
No comments:
Post a Comment