What Really is the Ego? And How Do We Control it?
Ah, the ego.
It has always been a fascinating concept to me.
The traditional representation of ego is that of the rich, attractive guy who thinks he’s better than everyone else. However, the ego is a much more complex psychological issue than the way it is commonly portrayed. In fact, I would argue that the socially anxious, skinny nerd stereotype would be someone just as consumed by their ego as anyone else.
The ego is simply our identity, who we believe we are.
The ego encompasses all of our fears, our insecurities, our doubts, as well as what leads us to believe we’re better than or inferior to other people.
Having a big ego is usually represented as a bad thing, and many promote completely letting go of it with a term I have come across called ‘ego death’.
My focus has always been trying to establish a healthy relationship with my ego, and to develop the flexibility of being able to limit its influence when it suits me. As the ego is not a bad thing, simply a very delicate thing, which must be handled with care if we are to prevent it from having major negative effects on our daily mindset.
