The Art Of Being Different In A World Of Superficial Narcissists

It’s officially cool now.

To be a self-absorbed narcissist who can’t smell the stench of their own bullshit emanating from their perfectly insta-filtered ass.

We live in a world where everyone knows about the Kardashians, but most haven’t even heard of Stephen Hawking or Noam Chomsky. People may be drowning in debt but can’t resist the temptation to buy expensive clothes, drive fancy cars, live in rich neighborhoods, and befriend similar people to impress similar people. Most people are so used to shameless self-promotion that they’ll do it anywhere. At a social gathering, on the commute to work, at the gym, in the grocery store.

Hey there, narcissist. Honestly, don’t you get tired of hearing the sound of your own voice or staring at your face hiding behind layers of makeup? Perhap, you’re so busy drowning in the attention-deficit adoration of a double tap, you don’t realize what kind of monster you’ve made of yourself.

I get that you need my attention. I see you and you make me barf.

I see you sprawled across social media trying to convince people of your glorified life, the reality of which only exists within the dimensions of a 5-inch screen. I see you talking too loudly at social gatherings, not listening to what someone else has to say but simply waiting for your turn to speak. I see you in the person who disrespects real relationships and thinks they’re entitled to having a harem of admirers because you just can’t seem to get over yourself. I see you become anxious and insecure when someone sidelines you or when you aren’t invited to that lit party on the street. I see you in the person who can’t stop judging others based on how they look, what they wear, and who they hang out with. I see you getting depressed when you’re alone with your thoughts because selfishness and greed are eating out your insides.

I pity the way your deepest need is not to be liked but validated and worshipped so you can feel important. You can’t seem to have an original thought in your head because it’s so deeply ingrained in a herd mentality, there is so space for anything else to grow. You don’t care about being a more evolved and compassionate version of yourself. You don’t want to seek the pursuit of knowledge or ponder about the mysteries of the universe. You don’t want deep intimacy or true love or lasting friendship.

You don’t want anything that doesn’t involve you because you only ever think about yourself. You want everyone to stroke your ego about how grand you are because you evaluate yourself and others on comparative terms. You want to always feel good so you never have to step outside your comfort zone and try something that threatens your sense of identity.

I want you to know that’s it okay to be different in a world of superficial narcissists.

Like not being under constant pressure to be perfect all the time, listening more than talking, creating more than consuming, expanding your mind by questioning widespread beliefs, making friends because you actually like who they are on the inside, learning by doing, empathizing more than judging, and being kind to people less fortunate than you. You’re allowed to do some soul-searching, find yourself, and be yourself. You can choose how infinitely you want the boundaries of your potential to stretch.

Since when did our worth reduce to something so superficial, that we don’t have any other values besides pleasure seeking and attention-seeking. Whatever happened to kindness, grace, intellectual curiosity, courage, authenticity, originality?

I know you’re scared of missing out, but you’re really only missing out on what it feels like to be truly happy because you’re chasing after something transient, elusive, and illusory. It will eventually hit you with a shattering crash down to a bottomless pit of endless need that your short-lived joy from instant gratification was never real.

You were never real.

At the end of the day, behind all the smoke and mirrors, you’ll find yourself face to face with the immense dissatisfaction of who you really are because you haven’t taken the time and energy to build a foundation of values and develop something substantial.

That’s the tipping point at which you’ll wish you were different.