The gullible make the perfect prey for a manipulative narcissist. Like a cat toying with a mouse, every move is calculated to make the target squirm and squeal. All is fun and games until the final pounce when the exhausted mouse becomes food.
But of course, there is always the smarter more agile mouse that is toying with the lumbering, slower fat cat. This shrewd but tiny fellow has already mapped out his entire exit strategy. He knows exactly how long he can play the game before he zips into his escape route just in time to see his dimwitted nemesis bang his head at the entrance.
According to experts in the field of psychology, whether we can be easily duped or not surprisingly has nothing to do with our intellect or educational level but more to do with our relationship with trust. Who do we trust more, our own instincts and inner conscience or the loudest voice in the room, the one declaring himself to be the expert in all things but who is actually just a master manipulator.
It is quite intriguing to discover that most of the people who gave huge sums of money to Bernie Madoff for example, were educated and financially well off. So how and why were they duped? With the enticing allure of easy money, group think and the persuasive power of “all my friends are doing this so it must be good” squashed the reasoning power of common sense and gut instinct.
The history of human nature has always underscored the fact that it is so much easier to dupe someone than it is to convince them they have been duped.
Now more than ever, snake oil salesmen, con artists and shysters are vying for our sheepish gullibility. If we are plugged into social media, we are daily being bombarded by misinformation, fake stories and now even manipulated photos designed to persuade us to believe a perverted version of the truth.
Whether we are the lumbering cat or the shrewd mouse depends on us and how much time and energy we are willing to invest to dig deeper to investigate stories and juicy memes which don’t pass the taste test.
Seeking the truth is only the appetizer. Using our critical thinking skills to decide what and why we believe what we discover . . . is the whole enchilada.
Bon Appetit and Happy Hunting!
This article was written by a guest blogger. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of Bob Lacey, Sheri Lynch or the Bob & Sheri show.
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
Yes , good article to help people become aware on how the narcissist manipulates even the smart. 🧐 Wish you guys could be more politically vocal when we have a leader who wants to become our dictator. He sends in his special troops to control dissenting groups. This is only the beginning and could easily become an authoritarian regime with how people follow the group and don’t question.
Perfect example making wearing a mask a political issue cost us many lives and devastated our economy and the easily led just followed.