Why Do You Write?

[QuantumIguana]

I'm not taking anything personally. It's just that you are using a rather peculiar definition of narcissism.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I'm not taking anything personally. It's just that you are using a rather peculiar definition of narcissism.

I think it is your definition that is peculiar, you said:

One of the strange things in our culture is that we look up to people who accomplish things, but if anyone thinks they just might be able to accomplish something and gives it a try, they get called a narcissist.

I don't believe this is generally true. I've heard it applied to certain artists and it fits, but certainly not "all people who accomplish things"

[QuantumIguana]

My definition of narcissism is quite standard. Narcissism is a word that gets misused quite often. I don't see anything narcissistic about thinking that you can write a book that people might want to read. At least not in the most common definition of narcissism. If you apply that definition, then everyone but the most shy wallflower would be a narcissist. Narcissism is generally considered to be more than just a sense of self worth, it's generally means an excessive evaluation of your own qualities. A grandmother who thinks that her cookies are good enough to enter in the county fair probably isn't a narcissist. But if that grandmother flips out because she didn't win, and starts blaming everyone else, then she might be.

[kennyc]

Not if it is what you posted and I quoted above, unless you were trying to say that is an incorrect definition of narcissism which you didn't actually say, and your previous post ( the first one I quoted above ) was without any clue as to who/what you were responding to claiming they had an incorrect definition.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

My definition of narcissism is quite standard. Narcissism is a word that gets misused quite often. I don't see anything narcissistic about thinking that you can write a book that people might want to read. At least not in the most common definition of narcissism. If you apply that definition, then everyone but the most shy wallflower would be a narcissist. Narcissism is generally considered to be more than just a sense of self worth, it's generally means an excessive evaluation of your own qualities. A grandmother who thinks that her cookies are good enough to enter in the county fair probably isn't a narcissist. But if that grandmother flips out because she didn't win, and starts blaming everyone else, then she might be.

That's a very poor definition of narcissism.

Narcissism at it's simplistic is self-focus. From Wiki:
. In everyday speech, "narcissism" often means egoism, vanity, conceit, or simple selfishness. Applied to a social group, it is sometimes used to denote elitism or an indifference to the plight of others.

from Dictionary.com:
narcissism
[nahr-suh-siz-em]   Example Sentences Origin

nar·cis·sism
   [nahr-suh-siz-em] Show IPA
noun
1.
inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity. Synonyms: self-centeredness, smugness, egocentrism.
2.
Psychoanalysis . erotic gratification derived from admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.


Flipping out about not winning the county fair is not narcissism, a narcissist wouldn't care and would already know that their cookies are the best, in fact they would be too self-absorbed in their cookies and how good they were to even bother entering the county fair.

And besides my grandmother is not a narcissist, she told me so herself.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Not if it is what you posted and I quoted above, unless you were trying to say that is an incorrect definition of narcissism which you didn't actually say, and your previous post ( the first one I quoted above ) was without any clue as to who/what you were responding to claiming they had an incorrect definition.

I wasn't defining narcissism there. I was talking about the misuse of the word. The way the word was used earlier in this discussion was to describe simply think that people might want to read your book as an example of narcissism.

That's a very poor definition of narcissism.

Narcissism at it's simplistic is self-focus. From Wiki:
. In everyday speech, "narcissism" often means egoism, vanity, conceit, or simple selfishness. Applied to a social group, it is sometimes used to denote elitism or an indifference to the plight of others.

That's just a little more than self-focus. It describes excessive self-focus.

inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity. Synonyms: self-centeredness, smugness, egocentrism.

I highlighted the key word in the definition.

Flipping out about not winning the county fair is not narcissism, a narcissist wouldn't care and would already know that their cookies are the best, in fact they would be too self-absorbed in their cookies and how good they were to even bother entering the county fair.

That is not correct, real narcissists are very insecure. They can't deal with the possibility that they might not be as great as they think they are.

[kennyc]

Of course it's correct. You definitely have a misunderstanding of the term and the condition.

Insecurity is something completely different.

Now back to the topic at hand for me.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Of course it's correct. You definitely have a misunderstanding of the term and the condition.

Insecurity is something completely different.

Now back to the topic at hand for me.

I understand the term and condition quite well.

[WPotocki]

You're asking for a reason? As if there's such a thing? Thought reasons were only found in books on myths and legends? You know, "reason" would be listed right next to "unicorn," the description something like, "Mythical creatures that some claim exist."

I have no reason why I do things ... let alone a good reason. If someone can supply me with a reason, I'll happily use it. I'll put it in my bio so people won't know I'm a yutz that only exists in the here and now ... and that does things because of whim, laziness, peer pressure and zeitgest ... which brings us to the next point of having a plan.

From the same book: "Plan" Please refer to Reason and Unicorn."

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by WPotocki

You're asking for a reason? As if there's such a thing? Thought reasons were only found in books on myths and legends? You know, "reason" would be listed right next to "unicorn," the description something like, "Mythical creatures that some claim exist."

I have no reason why I do things ... let alone a good reason. If someone can supply me with a reason, I'll happily use it. I'll put it in my bio so people won't know I'm a yutz that only exists in the here and now ... and that does things because of whim, laziness, peer pressure and zeitgest ... which brings us to the next point of having a plan.

From the same book: "Plan" Please refer to Reason and Unicorn."

Quoted for truth.