Quote:Narcissistic personality traits — such as grandiosity, superiority and entitlement — have been on the rise in recent years, especially among high-profile leaders and successful CEOs. Although narcissists can be challenging to work with, they can easily attract a following of people, are more likely to receive promotions and often get paid more.

In fact, people who have high levels of narcissism also tend to be mentally tougher and have lower rates of depression and stress than their humbler peers, according to new studies out of Queen’s University Belfast.

That’s because many people with narcissistic traits are driven by the belief that they deserve the best in life.

“In their attempt to gain access to the resources that they think they deserve, [they] face many challenges,” Kostas Papageorgiou, study author tells CNBC Make It. “Overcoming these challenges may help them build their mental toughness.”

For the study, researchers surveyed more than 700 adults who exhibited clinical or “normal” levels of narcissism (which is different from having narcissistic personality disorder) and asked them about narcissism and mental toughness. Researchers also classified narcissism into two broad categories: “grandiose narcissism,” which is characterized by exhibitionism and dominance, and “vulnerable narcissism,” which is associated with negativity and distrust.

All of the evidence showed that grandiose narcissism tended to be correlated with traits that help you succeed, such as mental toughness, confidence and goal-orientation. And the confidence and sense of accomplishment that people exhibiting grandiose narcissism gained seemed to offset any negative feelings of stress and depression that those traits might otherwise cause.

“Grandiose narcissism appears to correlate positively with healthy self-esteem and extroversion,” Papageorgiou says. These types of narcissists tend to be very confident, which is a good thing. (A vulnerable narcissist, on the other hand, might be overly sensitive.) A grandiose narcissist might not consider other people’s opinions, which can help them focus on a goal, he adds.

“Certainly, healthy self-esteem is the way to go in most social situations,” says Papageorgiou, but acting in narcissistic ways, like prioritizing yourself to further your own status and get ahead “may be more effective when facing a real challenge,” he says.

Of course, narcissism also has negative consquences: Other research suggests that narcissists are destructive and volatile, especially in positions of power.

“We need to be able to dominate our personality instead of letting it dominate us,” Papageorgiou says. “This is when problems emerge.”

In truth, everyone has a little bit of narcissism in them, Papageorgiou says, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

“People are trying to adapt, survive and succeed in a social, political and economic environment that promotes the ‘self-made’ man or woman,” and he believes his findings could reduce some of the pressure and negativity that comes with being seen as a narcissist.

In order to really succeed, though, narcissists also have to be competent, and have the humility to know when they need to adjust their behavior, Papageorgiou says. “An incompetent narcissist won’t go far in the workplace or life,” he says.

Quote:Mental Toughness (MT) is an umbrella term that entails positive psychological resources,
which are important across a range of achievement contexts (Clough, Earle, & Sewell, 2002).
The Dark Triad of personality (DT) includes the traits of subclinical narcissism, subclinical
psychopathy and Machiavellianism (Paulhus & Williams, 2002). The current study tested
directly the relationship between all four traits in a large adult sample; and a statistical model,
which suggests that subclinical narcissism will exert negative—rather than positive—effects on
both subclinical psychopathy and Machiavellianism, when MT is included in the model as a
mediator.

Quote:The Light Triad was positively correlated with Oneness Experiences and God Experiences, and these correlations remained significant even after controlling for the facets of Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility. The Dark Triad was also positively correlated with Oneness Experiences, and this correlation remained significant even after controlling for the facets of Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility. The Dark Triad was uncorrelated with God Experiences.

In terms of death transcendence, the Light Triad was positively correlated with nature and biosocial forms of death transcendence. After controlling for the facets of Agreeableness, the Light Triad was correlated with nature but was no longer correlated with the biosocial route to death transcendence. In contrast, the Dark Triad was positively correlated with religious and creative forms of death transcendence, and negatively correlated with nature as a route to death transcendence.

Quote:Are STS individuals narcissists?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism Wrote:Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one's idealised self-image and attributes. The term originated from Greek mythology, where a young man named Narcissus fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662 Wrote:Signs and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and the severity of symptoms vary. People with the disorder can:

   Have an exaggerated sense of self-importance
   Have a sense of entitlement and require constant, excessive admiration
   Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
   Exaggerate achievements and talents
   Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
   Believe they are superior and can only associate with equally special people
   Monopolize conversations and belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior
   Expect special favors and unquestioning compliance with their expectations
   Take advantage of others to get what they want
   Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
   Be envious of others and believe others envy them
   Behave in an arrogant or haughty manner, coming across as conceited, boastful and pretentious
   Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office

At the same time, people with narcissistic personality disorder have trouble handling anything they perceive as criticism, and they can:

   Become impatient or angry when they don't receive special treatment
   Have significant interpersonal problems and easily feel slighted
   React with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make themselves appear superior
   Have difficulty regulating emotions and behavior
   Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change
   Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection
   Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, vulnerability and humiliation