Fairytale wrote:Yes, I do think Ns are good at counter-arguing, especially if the self-image is at stake. Perhaps it's more for the sake of arguing and being right.
But it seems like it would be hard for Ns to have a sustained view on something. Maybe I am talking about beliefs here... What I mean is Ns seem always ready to cast away their principles and contradict themselves to fight off attacks on them. I sometimes wonder if they really believe in anything.
Thanks for the response on story-telling. It is ironic that Ns think about ideal love and fantasize a "future" but don't have the means to achieve them. Perhaps the future is always just a fantasy world existing parallel to the present? So is the present a progression from the past? Or is it more like a cycle?
Many narcissists do have the means to achieve their dreams. We are the same as all other people in that some are more talented than others, some are successful, and some aren't. I used to fantasize about love. It is too hard for me to think about it anymore; I have been in relationships with a few wonderful women, but I destroyed any chance we ever could have had at building a life together.
Once this all revealed itself to me in a dizzying moment of clarity, I felt forever banished from the world of romance. But then again, I could tell you tomorrow, with equal conviction, that love is an illusion for the weak-minded and I was never interested in it anyway. I am, above all, fickle.
My inner experience is circular. I always seem to arrive back at some set starting point -- emptiness. But it isn't a sad or depressing emptiness. I don't believe we experience that feeling the same as someone with BPD. For me, rather, it is just a realization that, deep down, I do not care about what I thought I cared about. No matter what, I always arrive back at that same realization. And that is actually when I feel most comfortable. But then again, I could tell you tomorrow, with equal conviction, that I wish I cared.