The Next Big Manipulation

“Manipulative people do not understand the concept of boundaries. They are relentless in their pursuit of what they want, and they have no regard for who gets hurt along the way.” 

~ Anonymous

You know them when you see them. The next “BIG” thing…at least in their minds. Those arrogant individuals with a strong sense of entitlement and grandiosity of self-importance, with a strong desire for attention and popularity; often, exploiting others in some way. Often, exploiting the very people, they claim to HELP. 

Every waking moment is spent making others take notice. They seek continuous approval from others with shameless self-promotion only focused on getting to the proverbial top. They may also do this through devaluing others, gaslighting techniques, and outright lies. Sadly, many will even prosper. 

They appear everywhere…not necessarily due to external promotion, but because they want you to know how important they are, they demand it. They barrage social media with what they tell you is life-saving work; however, you quickly realize several things: 

·      their story is not unique (everyone has a story), 

·      their message is nothing more than a self-promotion campaign,

·      and “their story” is all they have to hold onto this dream of being relevant and important.

If they have any sense of the world around them, they will quickly understand their story is growing older by the minute and they must find new ways to stay relevant. However, more than likely, their narcissistic attributes won’t allow for much if any self-reflection. And honestly, these individuals they have no inner sense of personal value, which is why they must seek constant external validation and attention, even if it means lying and deceiving, in which they are well-versed. You may see these antics especially if you don’t promote them or help them get the attention and validation they crave. They may come after you personally, through family and friends, or even your place of employment. Remember, they don’t care who they must step on or over to get to get ahead. It was never about you…it is about getting anyone standing in their way out of the way. 

The problem, many watching this manipulation don’t see the wolf for what it is. Many blindly being led to slaughter without ever knowing they were even in danger. By the time the true intentions of the wolf come to light, the wolf is completely ingrained like a pant leg full of cockleburs, nothing more than an excruciating nuisance. More time is spent trying to get them off and away from you. They are always more trouble than they are worth, and it is suggested to just throw the pants away and run in the opposite direction and fast as you can.

Once the dust settles, with eyes wide open, you begin to question their motives, intentions, and qualifications (which is often nothing more than their story used to pull on the heartstrings of others, usually those struggling and suffering in some way). They jump on every bandwagon in a futile attempt to get their name out there. When the bandwagon has taken them as far as it can, it’s time to jump on the next one, all to continue promoting the individual not the message that they said was so important. 

When you are truly helping others and working to save lives - you are not worrying about being on top. Those doing the real work are too focused on the person who needs a hand up from a dark and scary place that is often out of the sight of those aiming to be on the top of the mountain. 

Being on top for those doing the real work is about serving those you promised to help. 

To the wonderful servant organizations and individuals doing the real work for the right reasons, we know who you are and we THANK YOU!!