Why do you think people push the envelope?

There are a few people in society like this - people who don't believe that rules (and common consideration for others) apply to them. They generally very quickly get a reputation for being rude and inconsiderate and, in the long run, they probably achieve far less than if they exercised basic politeness and observed the written or unwritten rules that apply to the situation. In my city we frequently have many foreign visitors who don't understand the basic 'rules' of queuing which apply here. Mostly, one can forgive them for not knowing (though the students who come here to learn English are generally well briefed when they first get here!) and we tend to make allowances for them, since they are not inconsiderate people at heart ... generally quite the reverse, in fact! On MyLot and in other Internet forums one occasionally finds people who either have not bothered to read the rules or who deliberately flout them. They tend not to last long at all here! There are, though, people who have great consideration for others but who are selective about what rules really make sense and what don't. Those are the kind of people whom one tends to envy for being able to get things done that others are too timid to do. I'm thinking of the kind of person who will find a way of getting much needed help and supplies to a disaster area or the person who can close a deal or get some legal thing done where most others would fail. We tend to be a little nervous around people like this (partly because we don't entirely trust people who can cut through red tape when most of us wouldn't dare!) and it often takes a little getting to know them and their motives before we can be entirely comfortable with them. So there are two kinds of people. On the one hand there are people who understand the rules and can see when they should be broken or ignored in order to achieve something (usually for someone else's benefit); on the other hand there are those who are ignorant about the purpose of rules and simply feel that they don't apply. The latter people are not usually very successful simply because they are ignorant and careless of other people; the former kind are usually eminently successful simply because what they care about most IS other people rather than themselves!

hi dloveli I think a lot of those who are so obsessed with having it all no matter what, and running over people actually to get what they want are beginning psychopaths, and should be watched. No they will never be team players and sometimes turn out to be dangerous as they do not really care how they hurt others just to get what they want. No dloveli I think you are very much on the right track.

I don't think it's a matter of people wanting it all, I think it is a matter of people not wanting to constantly be under authority. I am one of those people. I don't have a lot of money, because I don't want to sell my own free will to work for someone who might pay me. I make my own money, I work for myself. Some people are better at following rules than others.

Its really because people didnt have to be team players years ago so others just tried to get there faster than others. THis team player stuff cam in to being I would say like 20 years ago. used to be ya worked on a crew! I still called tehm my crew when I was working. When all the rest calling them team players hmmmmmmmmm really the meaning is about the same. BUt some just kept tring to out do the others!

From my own experience I have found that these type of people are egotists with a very dominant narcissistic personality. This seems to drive the to be the center of attention by any means possible and being one of the many people who follows the rules does not get the attention they crave so they do the opposite from the norm.

I'm a bit like that sometimes I have to admit. I think it stems from a lack of respect for the rights of others and a resistance to authority, plus just plain old laziness and selfishness. I know I have these issues, but I think I am a good person in many ways so I dont worry about it too much.