u/BarbarianFoxQueen

Repeating stories, almost verbatim. Stories about their childhood, life, parents, extended family, etc.. usually stories that make them or their lineage look good.

They may even adopt aspects of these anecdotes as usernames, email addresses, or accessories to their appearance.

Regular people do this too sometimes, but this has been a common trait I’ve seen in every narcissist. Oh, and they tend to only focus on the men in these stories.

I have a lot of energy for a 44y/o and my work, a fitness venue, “groomed” me to run the highest impact and risky fitness classes for the kids that no other adult could or wanted to do.

It was fun in its own way, and I came to like the personalities of the kids. I treated them like mini adults and didn’t always remember not to swear.

But the difference between the adult and kid classes is that the adults WANT to be there. They chose to take the class and pay money for it. The kids, while interested in the sport, did not choose to be there and have no investment.

I gave it my all for two years, but have told my work that I will no longer do the kids classes. Surprisingly, they understood and empathised with my feelings. Most everyone at the venue is either childfree or an empty nester. So they get it and aren’t mad.

But yeah, kids are a lot of one-sided investment with little to no return. Their constant attitude of groaning about the drills and finding ways to cheat is exhausting and became a bit depressing. Thankfully I teach adult classes too and knew that my coaching style wasn’t awful. It’s just how kids are.

Dunno how parents do it 24/7 for decades.