Many individuals make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, stop smoking, or cease binge drinking. Not me. I aim to add a bit more narcissism, a tad more sociopathy, and a dash of depression.

Studies have shown that some characteristics of individuals with serious disorders have value to a person. Take narcissistic individuals for example.

Narcissism is considered a problem because it involves extreme selfishness, a grandiose view of oneself, a sense of entitlement, and low compassion. The spouses and children of a narcissistic person can have a rough ride.

On the positive side, narcissistic individuals often have great confidence, and some are charismatic. Donald Trump is an example. He is the first billionaire president of the United States. I reckon his confidence helped him get so far. Remember when he said he could shoot someone in the street and still get elected? That is confidence. Many Americans find him charismatic – they love his politically incorrect statements.

Sociopathic individuals tend to cause trouble because they disregard the rights of others, manipulate others, and break rules right and left, with no sense of guilt or remorse. On the
bright side, they have some valuable qualities. They tend to be witty and charming. Like a TV talk show host, but one who carries a concealed weapon.

Sociopathic persons may cause suffering to others but some do quite well for themselves – and for the organizations they run. Yes, some corporate leaders have sociopathic characteristics, and those characteristics may help them succeed. The same is true for some sales representatives, lawyers, and police officers. Gaining a confession from a person in custody sometimes involves persuading the person into thinking the interrogator wants to help him.

Depressed individuals tend to have low self-worth, to be pessimistic, and to have trouble sleeping. They may radiate out their unhappiness to others.

On the plus side, depressed people are good at keeping a focus on what is wrong at the moment. That focus could help a person solve the immediate problem. Depressed individuals also are
unusually good at breaking down complex problems into solvable components. That is a good path for problem solving.

So I have set a goal for myself to have more confidence, move toward having charisma, be witty and charming, focus on immediate problems, and break down those problems into solvable chunks. Whew! I may need more than a year to move that far in the direction of narcissism, sociopathy, and depression.