You know the type of person who walks into a room expecting all heads to turn? Yeah, the kind of person who genuinely believes their opinion is the only one that matters. The worst, right? Sure confidence is great, but there’s a difference between healthy self-esteem and thinking you’re basically a gift to humanity. Let’s dive into some telltale signs that someone might have an overinflated sense of importance.
1. They Expect Special Treatment Everywhere
These are the folks who genuinely believe every rule has an asterisk next to it that says “except for special people like me.” They’ll try to skip lines because they’re “too important” to wait, expect stores to bend their return policies just for them, and get genuinely offended when they’re not given preferential treatment. They treat basic rules and policies like they’re mere suggestions that don’t apply to someone of their stature. The look of shock on their face when they’re treated like everyone else is truly something to behold.
2. They Monopolize Decision Making
In their minds, no decision can possibly be made without their input—even in situations that don’t directly involve them. They’ll insert themselves into other people’s choices, from what restaurant the group should choose to how others should manage their careers. When decisions are made without their involvement, they’ll either try to change them or complain about being left out. The concept of “not everything needs your opinion” is completely foreign to them.
3. They Love Giving Unsolicited Advice
These people are like walking advice dispensers—except nobody asked for their opinion and they didn’t put any coins in. They genuinely believe that their wisdom is so valuable that it needs to be shared with everyone, all the time, whether they want it or not. They’ll interrupt conversations to offer their “expert” opinion on topics they barely understand. The best part is how they act genuinely surprised (and sometimes offended) when people don’t immediately drop everything to follow their advice.
4. They Take Up All the Physical Space
It’s fascinating to watch how they physically occupy space—spreading out their belongings across shared tables, standing in doorways while they talk, or positioning themselves in the center of any group. They’ll park their car across two spaces, put their bags on empty seats in crowded areas, and act completely oblivious to anyone who might need to get past them. Their physical presence mirrors their mental state—they genuinely believe they deserve more space than everyone else.
5. They Make Every Conversation About Themselves
No matter what topic you throw out there, it somehow comes right back to them. You could be talking about your grandmother’s pet turtle, and they’ll find a way to make it about their amazing pet-sitting experience in college. They’ve got this special talent for hijacking any discussion and steering it straight back to their favorite subject: themselves. Sometimes they’ll even interrupt your story halfway through because they’ve just thought of something “more interesting” to share.
6. They Can’t Handle Being Wrong
Oh boy, watching these people deal with being wrong is like watching a championship-level mental gymnastics routine. They’ll twist facts, rewrite history, and come up with the most creative explanations just to avoid admitting they made a mistake. Even when faced with clear evidence that they’re wrong, they’ll either deny it completely or find some way to make it someone else’s fault. It’s like their entire identity would crumble if they had to say those three simple words: “I was wrong.”
7. They Name-Drop Constantly
Listen closely, and you’ll notice they can’t go five minutes without mentioning their “close personal friend” who happens to be somewhat famous or successful. Every story they tell somehow involves a celebrity, CEO, or influential person they know (or more likely, met once at a coffee shop). They collect these casual connections like Pokemon cards, ready to flash them at any opportunity. The funny thing is, the more they name-drop, the more obvious it becomes that they’re trying to boost their own importance by association.
9. They Can’t Stand Not Being the Expert
Heaven forbid someone else in the room knows more about a topic than they do. When this happens, they’ll either try to one-up the actual expert with some obscure fact they just Googled, or they’ll attempt to discredit them entirely. They’ve got this amazing ability to be a self-proclaimed expert in literally everything—from the space-time continuum to the art of Kintsugi. Watch how quickly they become wine connoisseurs the moment someone mentions they work at a vineyard.
10. They Dismiss Other People’s Achievements
These folks have an incredible talent for minimizing others’ successes while maximizing their own. When someone shares good news about an achievement, they’ll respond with something like “Oh yeah, that’s pretty easy” or “I could have done that if I wanted to.” They have a way of making other people’s mountaintops look like molehills, while their own minor accomplishments are treated like they’ve just discovered a new planet. The need to be the most successful person in every room is exhausting—mostly for everyone else.
11. They Think Rules Are Beneath Them
In their minds, rules and regulations are cute little suggestions that only apply to “regular” people. They’ll park in handicapped spots “just for a minute,” cut in lines because they’re “in a hurry,” or ignore safety protocols because they “know what they’re doing.” The really amusing part is how they react when called out—usually with a mix of genuine surprise and indignation that someone dared to suggest they follow the same rules as everyone else.
12. They Have an Answer for Everything
Ever notice how these people never, ever say “I don’t know”? Even when faced with topics they clearly know nothing about, they’ll confidently spout opinions and “facts” as if they’ve spent years studying the subject. They’ve got an explanation for everything, a solution to every problem, and they deliver it all with the confidence of someone who’s never been wrong in their life. Watch how they’ll make up statistics on the spot to support their arguments, complete with very specific (and totally made-up) percentages.
13. They Overestimate Their Impact
These folks genuinely believe that every event, success, or failure somehow circles back to their involvement. If a project succeeds, it’s because of their minimal contribution; if it fails, it’s because others didn’t listen to them enough. They’ll take credit for other people’s ideas, claim responsibility for positive outcomes they barely influenced, and genuinely believe that their presence (or absence) can make or break any situation. It’s like they think they’re the sun that everyone else orbits around.
