Power isn't something easily come by.
Let's find out.
Reddit user, u/junimobuddy, wanted to know when someone's ego wrote checks they couldn't cash when they asked:
What's the smallest amount of power you've seen someone drunk on?
Even a small amount of power can multiply rapidly, making you think you control more than you actually do. Unfortunately, you're blind to what you really do, which is usually telling people how to obey the rules of traffic.
Run Where I Say To Run
"I once helped with first aid at half-marathon and one guy had a single job to do; he had to stand at the bottom of a road and direct the runners down one of two roads. Since there were barriers across to road it was a no brainer and impossible to screw up in any way, shape or form."
"He decided that, despite the road being closed to traffic and contrary to the very simple instructions he was given, the runners MUST run on the pavement. Cars=Road therefore On Foot=Pavement. He screamed at them and forced hundreds of people to squeeze along the pavement even chasing after anyone who put a foot on the road yelling at them."
"People were tripping each other up in the small space and when I got a couple of first aid patients I called around to see if I could get someone to stop him because he was drunk on absolutely zero power. Eventually someone shifted him and left no replacement, not even a direction sign and it all run smoother than when he was there."
"Nobody took the wrong road showing that he was less effective than empty space."
Starting Them Young These Days
"Sadly, me as a 4th grade volunteer crosswalk guard. I would literally make the kids wait until there was a car I could stop. I really thought I had legal authority when I put that vest on."
I'm In Control Of This Fictional Group Of Heroes!
"every gaming clan I've ever been in."
"The really fun ones were when the leader would be unable to make it to that night's festivities and would temporarily mod someone else. Almost every time, instant power monger."
"Next day "What in the f-ck did you do?" and removal."
"Like they forgot it was temporary."
Your power trip can be born out of misguided attempt to keep things under your thumb, even when it's hurting those around you.
I'll Use The Erasers For...Erasing?
"Being the one who orders the office supplies. Acting like the office max order is coming out of her own personal bank account even though we have never had an issue with our budget. I've had to explain why I needed eraser caps for pencils (I use the eraser faster than the lead?), Why I needed a clipboard, why I use so many staples, etc. It's not personal towards me, she's like this with everyone and none of the requests are expensive or outlandish. It's pathetic."
The Coffee Fund Wars
"The woman in the office that was in charge of the coffee fund."
"She had a list of rules for using the coffee machine. One was you couldn't brew any after 1pm. Even tho we had a few people that liked coffee in the afternoon."
"Then she didn't buy coffee with the fund because people weren't following the rules."
"So someone else just bought coffee and brought it in. She didn't like that either."
"I think eventually the people she clashed with just brought in a new machine and did their own coffee fund."
"That woman was crazy"
People Share The Most Selfless Thing They've Ever Secretly Done | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
A simple gesture from a good samaritan can go a long way. It could even inspire a chain of people paying it forward. But there's a certain rush in knowing yo...The One And Only Commenter
"A woman created a group on Facebook for one of my hobbies for organizing meetups and stuff like that. She shared it around on other groups and naturally hundreds of others joined."
"Things only went downhill after that. Nobody was allowed to post except her. Seemingly every comment, mostly related to the meetup details, would set her off and cause her to lash out or ban a member completely. I got banned but can't remember the exact details, I think I responded to a post like "I can't make it, but everyone have fun", which prompted her to berate and guilt trip me."
"Eventually she went off the deep end and deleted the entire group to "punish everyone". Somebody else created a new group, which everyone joined, and it is still going strong to this day."
Parking On The Man's Kingdom
"Years ago, while driving the U.S. gulf coast from Texas to Florida I was passing through Pensacola, Florida when I became confused about which turn I needed to take. I pulled just off the highway onto the edge of a massive empty parking lot and pulled out my large map. The nearest building was nearly a quarter of a mile away and I was just on the edge of this gigantic, unfenced parking lot."
"A rent-a-cop drove all the way from the building in a golf cart, got out and shouted at me "No parking! This is a private lot! You can't park here!" I'm sitting there in a car with California tags, the engine running and a map spread out on my lap and this idiot is telling me I can't PARK there. He looked like Eric Cartman, demanding that everyone "respect mah authoritay!" I ignored him until I found the road I wanted and drove off."
Oh, Tim...
"I worked as a Camp Director at a summer camp and as a rule when the Head Counselor of a cabin group was gone they should assign someone to be a stand in. Nothing serious at all and most of the time if they counselors were cool they would just go by oldest or most experienced."
"Not the case for this one a--hole named Tim. Now Tim was the type that believed working at camp was like something from Game of Thrones and he was biding his time before he came into some power which happened when he was working in the oldest boys cabin group. The head counselor had to leave for a graduate school interview and Tim was coincidentally was left in charge because the other counselors were too young. I was doing cabin checks one night when I came across Tim with all the campers outside (well after lights out) forcing them to do push ups."
"I asked what in gods name was going on and he said the campers were being gross and disrespectful by farting and laughing…please note these are 12 year old boys. I told everyone that they had to get to bed immediately. Tim decided to get porky with me when I had to publicly remind him that I was his immediate supervisor and had actual authority."
"Tim went stomping off and complained to the head director (my only supervisor) who absolutely lambasted him for using corporal punishment on campers. He moved Tim out of that cabin and brought new staff in until the head counselor returned. Tim spent the week working in the kitchen."
"Looking through the Facebook page for camp Tim seems to be a police officer which is concerning."
Not all power trips have to end badly. With a solid head on your shoulders, you can take that power and do something good with it.
Get That Attention Any Way You Can
"My Grade 5 class had head-to-head games to test each other on times tables, and the teacher would pick one student each day to judge who of the two students gave the correct answer the fastest. I had a crush on one of my classmates, so when I was the judge for the day, and whenever I though it was close enough to get away with, I ruled him the winner of that round"
Monitoring Super Specific Niches With An Iron Fist
"Reddit mods"
"My favourite are the niche subs that don't get much traffic or posts but the mods police it so much that anything that isn't exactly and specifically what they want it to be gets deleted."
"Check the rules before posting next time, this sub isn't about Serbian police being happy and making an arrest, this sub is about Serbian police making arrests while slightly annoyed but not showing it!"
Not Drunk. Perhaps Mad With Power?
"When my cat learned how to close doors, she started trapping the other cat in the bathroom by luring him in and pulling the door closed from underneath. She also pushes doors closed on me. I'm not sure if you could call it drunk, but she is very clearly pleased with herself when she does this (tail up, purring)."
Flipping The Script
"I forget the circumstances, but once my wife and I ended up at a busy theme park during their Halloween festival with an entire booklet of front-of-the-line passes. I'm talking 150 of the suckers. Effectively infinite rides on a packed weekend."
"We rode so many roller coasters in a row that I was sick as a dog mid-way through the night. We still planned to enjoy the park (scare zones and food and such), but no longer had need of the blessed booklet."
"So we strolled through the festivities, arm in arm like amusement park gods, judging couples based on their costumes and demeanor, carefully deciding to whom we should bestow a night of infinite rides."
"This is unexpectedly wholesome."