Mehak Gupta Grover
From anger arises delusion and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool.
Our ego is the reason for all our dilemmas or confusions. All our actions are thought based. In fact, ego is only a thought and we all are taking shelter under it. But, what we forget is, this shelter is limited. Ego is always limited in power and yields only limited results. And, gradually, this ego keeps on shifting from one need to another and each time becomes more powerless.
The ego is an identity of our own construction, an identity which is false. This identity, that comprises of our talents, abilities and other aspects of our personality will be attributes of our skills, but the mental construct of our self remains artificial.
There is a thin line between ego and self-respect. Ego is harmful but self-respect is must. One must maintain his/her respect but at the same time make sure not to be egoist. Self-respect makes us ambitious to be the best in our field but ego makes us think only about ourself. It is due respect for oneself, one’s character and one’s conduct. It is a proper sense of one’s own dignity and integrity.
The ego is our sense of self, it represents the ‘I’ respect of a person. It can easily represent human pride because our natural tendency as humans is to be self- focused.
What is ego? The ego is difficult to see, because it hides behind opinions that appear true- like our attachment to descriptions of our identity. There are three levels of ego-
Pride- a feeling that you are better or more important than other people.
Arrogance- behaviour that shows that you are better or more important than other people.
Ignorance- lack of knowledge or information.
A dog has no ego. It’s owner can be rich or poor, tall or short, fat or thin, young or old, and the dog will adore them all. The dog has no ego, it will wag it’s tail to it’s owner, no matter how rich or poor the owner might be.
Ego may occur in small things, may be-
– ‘I am beautiful’
– ‘I am intelligent than you’
– ‘Nobody loves me’
The ego hides behind the ‘I’. When we have such thoughts and agree with even the slightest conviction that these ideas define us, then we are reinforcing an ego.
‘I’ for ego
‘I’ for attitude
Ego takes you nowhere
Attitude takes you everywhere
Which one do you want?
Let it take it in a way- if we have an ambition, we probably have ego. And if we have ego, it will probably wring us over at some point if we dont learn to control it.
The beginning of our journey towards success is often a humble one. We act as a student- we learn- we ask- we explore- we look upon more experienced one. We haven’t yet tasted our own pride. We are still in the exploring process. But then, we sign our first deal, we shake hands with our first contract, we make our first sale and then there is no looking back- for success or for our ego?
It is easy to be humble before we’d achieved anything worthwhile. But, now, we have some real achievement to brag about- to make us feel important. And finally, ego is born.
If remains unchecked, it has turned many great thinkers into self-inflated egoist, many humble entrepreneurs into conceited sociopaths and many great leaders into power- hungry warlords.
Let go off your ego
‘You must control your ego and let go off pride’.
Your ego is the only thing that prevents you from attaining greatness. It is your ego that comes between your goals and your dreams and makes you a less loving person.
Ego is a chronic disease, but its remedy is also within it. There are many things in life we can do nothing about-the circumstances of our childhoods; natural events in the outer world; the chaos and catastrophe of illness, accident, loss, and abuse-but there is one thing we can change. How we interact with our own egos is up to us. Simply building up the ego leaves a person stranded. The most important events in our lives, from falling in love to giving birth to facing death, all require the ego to let go.
* Success is temporary- Success is a journey, not a destination. When you become successful, don’t rest on your laurels.
* Stop feeding your ego- Don’t isolate yourself from reality by building relationships with people who stroke your ego. Surrounding yourself with “yes people” is just like talking to yourself.
* Compete against yourself- When you compete against others, it’s easy to emphasize winning over self-improvement. However, when you compete against yourself, you both win.
* Even experts have room to learn- Never stop growing. Know your limitations and admit when you don’t know something. It’ll help to keep you grounded.
* Listen up- Discover what others have to offer and ask for their opinions. It shows that you value their opinions as well as their insight.
* No one’s perfect- Don’t let success go to your head. Be quick to apologize for your mistakes. And a little humility will remind you that you’re human.
* Share your success- You may be successful, but there’s a good chance others helped you along the way. Give them the credit.
* Remember your roots- Remember where you came from and what you’ve learned along the way. Help others by mentoring them.
* Dont let ego take charge- Treat everyone with dignity and respect. You may be successful, but that doesn’t make you better than anyone else.
* Bragging is ugly- There’s a difference between excitement and bragging. We know you’re thrilled about your new “toy,” but others may not be having enough money to even eat a meal – be sensitive.
Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha- submitted himself to rigorous ascetic practices, studying and following different methods of meditation with various religious teachers. But he was never fully satisfied. One day, however, he was offered a bowl of rice from a young girl and he accepted it. In that moment, he realised that physical austerities were not the means to achieve liberation. From then on, he encouraged people to follow a path of balance rather than extremism. He called this The Middle Way.
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