Every morning is the chance for a fresh start. With the sun rising, you start the day smiling…
…Until you see the narcissist lurking in your hall with their routines that scream narcissism.
If you spot any of these 8 morning routines, just know that you are sharing your house with a person so toxic, they should come with a warning stamped to their forehead.
Let’s dive in!
#1 “Stop… Mirror time!”
It’s the most frustrating thing, isn’t it? You want to get ready for your day, but the person you live with will not stop checking themselves in the mirror.
The hair has to be right, the make up if they wear it has to be just so. The clothes have to make them look the best they know how to look.
Once all that is done, let’s practice the pout, or the smile, or the raised eyebrow they think looks sexy.
It’s as if they are the only, and most important person on the planet!
They’re not of course, they’re just like you and me, but anybody who focuses this much time and energy on themselves in the mirror has to have at least several narcissistic traits loaded up inside of them.
#2 Wanting to be left alone
Leave me alone so I can obsess over my thoughts!
Leave me be while I try to plan whose day I’m going to ruin today.
Let me just have a few minutes to myself so I can cause you to worry about what you might have done wrong!
It’s a pretty wild thing, don’t you think? Nobody should be waking up every morning and wanting to just shut themselves away in a room and not be bothered, but this is what narcissists do. It’s like they have to formulate some kind of plot each day.
Who can I upset?
Where do I begin?
To hell with conversing with the person I live with!
This is common, as much as I hate to say it. Narcissists think that by being absent, they somehow feel missed, or wanted, or needed even more.
#3 Needing strict routine
There’s something about a routine that narcissists absolutely adore. They want to be seen to be getting up and doing exactly what they did yesterday, because they know it works.
And what works, they will carry on to the next day, and the next.
This strictness is kind of what makes them feel like they’ve got everything under control as well.
If there is a change, they have to adapt quickly and they don’t really want to be doing that if they can help it.
So the routine of having a routine is really where you want to look and say, “My God, is there anything you can do today that you didn’t do yesterday morning?”
If the answer is no, then you’re looking at somebody who likely has narcissistic blood running through their toxic bodies.
#4 Killing your morning joy
Nothing quite like somebody peeing all over your day before it’s even begun, is there?
This is where narcissists can be found, though!
As you breeze down the stairs with a smile on your face, all it takes is for them to see you happy, and they will come at you full speed with a criticism, or a mocking joke that will sink you into a state of nothingness.
It happens all the time, and that’s where you will see the narcissist skip off out the door wearing the biggest smirk, just because they know they’ve gotten under your skin before the coffee you drank has a chance to boost you.
#5 Moaning about money and responsibility
Another day, another chance for the government to take my tax money!
I don’t have time to stop and think, I’ve got responsibilities you can’t even imagine.
The money won’t make itself, I don’t have time to hug you.
What a load of toxic nonsense thought up by somebody who really thinks they are God’s gift to the economy.
Narcissists love to just get those phrases in the second you try to ‘slow them down.’ They want to get out the door and show the world they bring some kind of authentic meaning to it.
If only that were true, because it seems all they’re actually any good at is throwing the world’s most entitled comments to the people who love them before they leave the house.
It’s not a nice feeling knowing that you’re stopping somebody who simply has no time for you, not even five seconds. But the excuse will be that they’re needed somewhere else, and that gets the priority over you.
#6 Leaving without saying goodbye
You’re in the kitchen making your coffee and humming pleasantly along to the song on the radio when you hear the front door click shut.
You look up and call out for your narcissistic partner, but they don’t answer. As you dash to the door, you see them reverse out of the drive and head down the road.
They didn’t call out to you to say bye, and you know they didn’t. Anyone would think you’ve done something wrong, and of course, that’s what they want you to think.
But they will play dumb and pretend they said bye, and leave you feeling like you’re imagining things all over again.
It’s what they do!
#7 Wanting to know what you’re doing that day
So, while I’m off working hard, what will you be doing?
Are you seeing anybody today?
Will you be running any errands in town today?
What about the house, are you going to pick up and give it a blitz like you said you would?
Narcissists will try to line up your day for you if they can, but that’s where you have to affirm your boundaries.
Give them a little, mention one or two things, and be purposely vague to really get under their skin.
If it’s your day off, you’re allowed to spend it however you want to. They shouldn’t be able to pick out your answers just to ridicule or criticize them, should they?
This is a very subtle way of controlling you, and you should give it a definite wide berth in response.
#8 Up early to brag
Gotta get that early worm!
I’ve already run 5km and juiced my breakfast!
Look at you, just crawling out of bed!
You’ve missed half the day already.
Spare me.
Well done to you for getting up early and doing what makes you happy. What makes me happy is sleep.
We don’t need to hear narcissists brag, and we especially don’t need to hear or see them brag at 5am, yet it’s a routine they seem to have an enjoy that allows them to tell the world:
Look how amazing I am!
I am making the most of every day!
I’m so healthy and balanced and you’re not!
They may as well hold up a banner that says: I am the best and you bunch of lazy asshats suck!
Well, if sleeping in is what makes you happy, then brag about that.
