Rooted in Taiwan, Connected with the World

I just read an article about some new research findings regarding narcissism, a topic that I have become interested in over recent years. I'm by no means an expert or scholar in psychology, but based on my personal experiences, I consider narcissism to be at one end of the spectrum, with self-denial at the other, where our personalities fall somewhere in between. What I found most interesting and informative are the three types of narcissism that the author introduced, as follows: The first type is agentic narcissism , which is the most recognizable—and toxic among the three types. Agentic narcissists hold exalted views of themselves, seeing their competence and intelligence as far greater than that of others. In an effort to maintain that self-image, they will often derogate the talents and temperaments of others. They are more invested in status and admiration than they are in intimacy. They self-promote tirelessly, harbor grandiose fantasies of their prospects and projects, and ...

I delivered a prepared speech to my fellow Toastmasters last night. This speech was special to me because it was the final one I needed to deliver to complete my chosen learning path on Pathways, Toastmasters’ online platform. I selected this path nearly two years ago when I joined Toastmasters, a nonprofit educational organization. Therefore, delivering this speech marks a new milestone in my learning journey at Toastmasters. The objective of this speech was to reflect on my learning—including new learning, relearning, and unlearning—within a time frame of 10 to 12 minutes, nearly double the usual 5 to 7 minutes required for standard speeches. Finally, with the title My Takeaways Along the Way, I delivered my speech in 11 minutes and 37 seconds, making it the longest speech I had ever delivered in English—yet another milestone. It has been a great learning journey, and here is my speech script. _______________________________________________ My Takeaways Along The Way Life is learnin...