Counter-Narcissist Cheat Codes: Projection

Psychological defense class #1.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.  

Counter-Narcissist Cheat Codes: Projection

Welcome to the Psychological defense class series.

In a community that spans many cultures, political beliefs and every generation from teens to those in their 90s, it can be a challenge finding examples that are memorable and can relate across the generations. It is also easy to forget that some are unfamiliar with what is common knowledge to others. I learned this lesson well in my early 20s teaming up with my Grandpa Charlie in the game of Trivial Pursuit.

We destroyed all challengers as a team because he knew the “old” things I didn’t and I knew the “new” things he didn’t. For example, he knew classical music, I knew pop music, he knew literature and opera, I knew TV and movies, he knew ancient history, I knew the modern world. I was recently reminded of this lesson when I told my Mom about the new introductory cheat code series and she said, “What’s a cheat code?”

Cheat Codes

A cheat code is a term that originated in the video gaming industry. It is normally a code or method used by gamers to gain special abilities, powers, extra benefits and opportunities to skip levels in games. A code usually comes in the form of a line of text, an alphanumeric sequence, keyboard combinations or a simple password.

By having this code, it gives the user a systemic advantage over all others without it. Even more so when the competition does not know a cheat code is being used to beat them. It can certainly leave the loser (by cheat code) thinking self-defeating thoughts because they have no idea they failed due to an unfair playing field.

At CNI, we have no doubts that a better understanding of narcissist spectrum psychology is a cheat code towards a happier and more successful life, and is essential for securing the future from those who would destroy it, “to feather their own nests.”

How is it supposed to work?

From our think tank perspective, Counter-Narcissist Intelligence works to provide the global community with the psychological intelligence that helps everyone better recognize, call out and level the corrupted playing fields that malignant narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths compulsively cheat on and are always trying to tilt against us.

Essentially, each time you personally find, recognize and process any new protection that aids in your progress, peace and happiness in the psychological game of life vs. those who are toxically out for themselves, civilization exponentially wins and the forces of darkness exponentially lose.

Key Note: In this regard, the eternal battle between good and evil seems very much a zero-sum game and unlikely a coincidence that a narcissist’s pathology always seems to have the exact same weak, insecure, greedy and predatory zero-sum mentality of, “If I am not winning I am losing.”

A cheat code for a video game may let the user alter the game or a character’s behavior, appearance, abilities, give extra ammunition or access other hidden features. CNI’s codes strive to arm skilled practitioners and thoughtful users with psychological codes to gain additional abilities for similar yet much more honorable and life skill reasons.

In truth, CNI’s codes are mostly filtered combinations of logic, common sense, empirical psychology and intuitive behavioral analysis, so rest assured you should never find anything dark or nefarious hidden in our codes unless you are a narcissist. Indeed it is the CNI mission to counter the dark and nefarious.

The basic goal of a CNI cheat code is to give good people more knowledge of how one can alter a narcissist’s behavior, public appearance and abilities to deceive. We also share thoughts, ideas and philosophies for how to build extra defenses to protect one’s self and skip levels of trauma in the video game of life when forced to interact with clinical-level narcissists.

At a minimum, we strive to help everyone get increasingly better at recognizing the self-serving psychological tricks narcissists use to covertly lead us down the hidden paths of their own dark fears, fantasies and rabbit holes, so they can be avoided.

After that, a solid next step is practicing to get better at using narcissist psychology codes in everyday life. This should help one know who needs microscopic focus and what can be completely ignored to save time, energy, money, stress and brain power for the things that really matter, such as self-care, family and societal progress.

The medium and long-term benefit of CNI codes should be to contribute to a steady growth of knowledge and the further processing of practical and solutional psychological intelligence. When such growth begins to occur on a larger scale on its way to critical mass, we should begin to notice positive cumulative effects individually, in groups, businesses, communities, nationally and globally.

It is a certainty that when narcissistic abusers are better identified globally as the mutually destructive leaders they inevitably are, and kept or removed from power due to their mental disorder’s historical and pathological predisposition towards acts of greed, cruelty, evil, violence and war when in positions of power over others, a better world will be in sight.

Word of mouth can save lives and the world

Most gamer cheat codes are not easily accessible because they are hidden somewhere in the internet, released to a select few and/or sold for big money as an extra feature. Thankfully, with our subscribership now exceeding 1000 in 50 countries in our first year, CNI cheat codes should increasingly become easier to find via word of mouth and we will do our best to always keep them free. If you can afford to support this effort financially, it will be much appreciated by us and so many good honest folks just trying to get by.

This should translate into more people being aware of the psychological intelligence that explains a lot of the inhuman behavior they see in the world and/or experience personally, and how there are highly instructive and predictive best practices and requirements for strategically countering the overabundance of global narcissists we face at this time.

From a CNI perspective, it is existential that all who are capable should at least use some Counter-psychology against malignant narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths currently trying to pull off a world wide anti-democratic coup, because it may be the difference between winning and losing in the video game of life.

Essentially, we want this cheat code series to fill in the gaps in psychological knowledge that far too many with good intentions have through no fault of their own, so more good folks have a fighting chance against those with selfish and bad intentions who are always trying to rule over everything and everyone, aka malignant narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths. Let us just say that the obscuring of such public knowledge clearly happens at an elite level for reasons highly suspicious and almost certainly connected.

The foundational cheat code

The first psychological cheat code I ever learned predates my narcissist spectrum studies by decades, which is part of why I never really thought about it as a “cheat code” until recently. For many years it was just the only concept that stuck in my memory from an introductory psychology class at 18 years old, until it later became a narcissist’s tell, and today it is the foundational CNI cheat code. Of course we are talking about “projection.”

Although I could not place it at the time in either politics nor closer to home, hearing that “people projected their own faults onto others” had a crystal clear message and familiar ring to it. The fact that it was well-known as a psychological behavior and defense mechanism was also somehow reassuring in that “the truth is out there.” However, I never fully appreciated projection’s power until I saw a sociopath use it against a friend to great sinister effect.

As covered in the When To Believe Narcissists defense class, one of the primary ways they unconsciously reveal themselves and tell the truth is via projection. This means that if you observe this behavior from someone you know to be a narcissist, it is one of your best opportunities to find out what they are really up to and what their true nature is, because by falsely accusing someone else, they are usually revealing a deep and dark truth about themselves. The best part is, they normally are not even aware that they are doing it which is a big part of what makes it a narcissist cheat code.

For those unfamiliar with projection, perhaps you sort of know it from nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels most famous saying, “Always accuse the other side of which you are guilty.” In a case of sad irony, it seems likely that Goebbels learned about projection by reading the analysis of the father of psychoanalysis, Austrian Jew Sigmund Freud, and then psychopathically took the psychology of projection and figured out how to use it consciously as propaganda against everyone else. Accusing others of what they are guilty of to gain and maintain power sure sounds a lot like a nazi thing, doesn’t it?

Definition

Although I have some issues with it, the below is one of the clearer definitions I have found for projection.

“Psychological projection is a theory in psychology in which humans defend themselves against their own unpleasant impulses by denying their existence while attributing them to others. For example, a person who is rude may constantly accuse other people of being rude. It can take the form of blame shifting.”

Key Projection features:

• Done unconsciously to protect the ego

• Primal psychological defense mechanism

• A warning about projection is in the Bible

• Freud “conceptualized” the concept to psychology

• It works to deflect, deny, confuse, gaslight and blame the victim

• Pretty much anyone’s defenses can project when we feel stressed or fragile

• Narcissists are a bundle of stress and fragility so are almost always projecting

• Projection is the primary narcissist defense mechanism so it is fundamental to who they are

• Because narcissists can never admit they project, it is a waste of time and energy to debate it with them

Rule - If anything sounds off, it is wise to at least entertain the possibility that when a subject harshly criticizes others in the future, they may be revealing themselves as a narcissist unconsciously confessing their crimes, sins and attempted manipulations.

You will find examples of projection everywhere if you look for it.

CNI highly endorses Ted Lasso as an entertaining, funny, sweet, poignant and psychologically therapeutic show.

Crossing the Rubicon

This brings us to a Rubicon for the user to cross in terms of going beyond the limits of empirical psychology. From a CNI perspective, crossing this threshold gains the user another level of understanding beyond the technical psychological definition. All it takes is some very common sense extrapolation to see how logic dictates that projection can be useful as a cheat code on both conscious and unconscious levels.

In my early twitter days circa 2015, I tweeted something I likely thought was reasonably insightful about some politicians strategically projecting their faults onto their rivals. A woman politely responded that I was using projection incorrectly because psychological projection only happens subconsciously.

I had never previously understood that projection was purely considered an unconscious defense mechanism, because I had so often seen it being used consciously in politics by one party in particular, and then with increasing frequency. What other word would one use?

To my surprise, when I asked her “what is it called when someone projects consciously like a political party accusing another of what they themselves are guilty of?”, she said, “I don’t know, but you are using it wrong.”

My gut reaction and statement on the topic to this day is until I hear a better word for someone purposely accusing another of which they are guilty, I am going to keep calling both the conscious and unconscious forms, “projection,” because there is no doubt that many politicians consciously know they are projecting their faults onto others to trick the voters into electing them.

I am still waiting for another good word that means consciously accusing others of what you are doing because hypocrisy and cynicism are essentially meaningless poor substitutes for what can be so accurately referred to as “conscious projection.”

To be clear, from an empirical psychological perspective she was technically correct. I suspect the reason why I so easily conflated the conscious and unconscious was because the term and concept of projection fit so perfectly with the conscious political behavior I was seeing in my primary studies.

At the time, my focus was on business and politics so I regularly saw various groups and spokespeople go on TV and convincingly accuse their business competition or a political rival of exactly what they themselves were at least as guilty of doing. So yes, “psychological projection” is technically only done unconsciously, but without an effective substitute, it has never made sense to leave a vacuum where the term “conscious projection” used to be.

Fortunately, since I never mind being corrected with more precise information, I quickly incorporated the clarification that projection primarily happens unconsciously when narcissists and sociopaths do it. For these disorders, it is clearly a primary unconscious defense mechanism to protect their egos.

However, the psychopath has no need to protect their ego because they have little to no emotion to hurt, so they literally do not care what anyone else thinks of them. They are the way they are usually because the emotional part of their brain never formed, is highly underdeveloped or is non-functioning for another reason such as physical damage. The caveat is psychopaths have been known to feel anger and rage so always best to avoid triggering one against you if it can be avoided.

They normally only care about getting what they want which usually requires keeping their psychopathy hidden, but they never will feel any shame, guilt or remorse in consciously accusing others of what they are guilty of. Many cognitively understand the normal range of human emotions. They just rarely if ever actually feel our emotions, which is often revealed in some very odd or strange tone-deafness, like say, taking on Disney as a Florida politician.

In other words, via empirical psychology, narcissists and sociopaths regularly project subconsciously, but I have no doubt the vast majority of narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths are all also more than ready, willing and able to shamelessly project consciously whenever they believe it can benefit them.

It is however so fascinating and a highly useful cheat code to know that narcissists like the trumps and most other egomaniacal villains regularly unconsciously and consciously confess their crimes via projection.  

Does anyone still have any doubts that virtually every single trick and cheat trump has ever accused anyone else of he wanted to do or was guilty of himself? Does anyone still not recognize that it is a certainty that trump and the MAGA cabal will keep projecting, cheating and confusing everything in every possible way, because all he has ever shown his entire life is a malignant narcissist willing to say and do anything he can get away with to help himself?

Rule - Anyone who would consciously and shamelessly project their faults onto others for self-serving political, financial or social advantage is indeed being very narcissistic at a minimum. Certainly people can be weak, greedy or panic, and maybe they should get a pass from making an ethical “mistake” once or twice, but if it happens on a regular basis, by definition that pretty much names them a pathological narcissist.

The clarity, simplicity and accuracy of using projection as a cheat code to predict narcissist thinking and behavior regardless of whether it is done consciously or unconsciously is why it is so foundational. The fact that you can almost always trust that every accusation by a pathological narcissist is a projected confession, also means you know a narcissist’s accusations can almost always be accurately translated into being the opposite of the truth.

Seeing projection for what it truly is reveals some of life’s many lies and manipulations happening just beneath the surface of a narcissist’s “so-called life,” and it is a cheat code for knowing what a narcissist is likely really thinking or up to beneath their steady flow of lies, manipulations and highly deceptive superficial charms.

Conclusions

When done unconsciously, most decent and reasonable people will recognize and acknowledge they projected if it is pointed out to them in a constructive and understanding way. Then they can also begin to understand why it happened and what they need to work on.

Almost all clinical-level narcissists outside of those with borderline personality disorder are perfect in their own minds, or at least must tell themselves they are, which is why the idea that they would ever look inside themselves to see where they went wrong is almost ludicrous.

Counterintuitively, it is pretty well established that the only thing most clinical level narcissists get out of compulsory therapy is how to manipulate the system better. As a rule, therapy rarely works for those who believe they are perfect and cannot admit mistakes. In their minds, they have nothing wrong to fix. It is everyone else who is broken (aka projection).

The simple way to remember projection is to remember almost every single accusation that comes from a narcissist, sociopath or psychopath is a confession. It is truly shocking once you fully process and realize that nearly every accusation is a confession of something the narcissist has done, is currently doing or wants to do.

Again, it is another high odds and a fairly safe bet in your favor that almost everything you hear a narcissist or sociopath accuse others of is a confession, because almost all their projection is done subconsciously, so they do not even realize they are confessing, while the psychopath will use projection consciously because they feel no guilt, shame or remorse in saying whatever it takes to get what they want. Just think about what you might do if you did not have a conscience.

Always keep in mind that someone may seem to grow out of their excessive narcissism and some do, but the reality is that while they may seem to have improved as a person for years, it is at least equally probable that their complete selfishness never went away. Too often, it just appears to be dormant for many years if not decades, but that is just because they were forced to get better at hiding it. Far too often, it rears its ugly head again when a big selfish opportunity presents itself.

Some hindsight signs are always there such as at least a few projections, but for a non-selfish person who does not only think of themselves all the time, or they are not fully immersed in the workings of the narcissistic mind, the signs are subtle and easy to miss because most of the behaviors are repeatedly unfathomable to most honorable people.

Unfortunately, empirical psychology tells us their pathologies normally compulsively drive them to consciously and unconsciously push and play on the buttons of everyone’s weaknesses for selfish, cruel and other dysfunctional reasons, and if given the power to do so, they will present everyone with two options. Submit or rebel?

Warning and Disclaimer - Unfortunately, unlike computer code, psychology is both an art and a science which means creativity and honest self-awareness are essential components of effectively deploying any psychologically based CNI cheat code. If one is not at least mentally and strategically prepared for every possible narcissistic rage response that can be unleashed upon you, trying to implement anything against a narcissist, sociopath or psychopath can massively backfire into something far worse.

With so many possible angles and vectors in any complex psychological situation involving good humans and highly narcissistic ones, CNI highly recommends getting expert advice on each unique situation so you fully understand and are prepared for the levels of blowback you could receive when taking on a malignant type of narcissist.

The likelihood of blowback is another main reason why most experts say “just get away” and “cut all ties,” and why CNI emphasizes choosing your own battlefield when fighting is your only or best option, because you never want to get down and dirty on the home turf of a creature that gets off on being a fire hose of toxic abuse, if you don’t need to.

Sam Ray © 2024 Counter-Narcissist Intelligence

IRL Cheat Code Lab: Projection