Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Devil's Name is Ego

There's no question that the word Ego gets thrown around a lot these days, but how many people actually know what Ego really is?  

 

Now I know what most of you are thinking at this point... is he (me) really going to lecture about Ego? Someone who's made a career out of getting photographed half nude? Well... quite frankly, yes. 

So before jumping to any conclusion that this may be somewhat hypocritical let's go back to my opening sentence. When most people say "he or she has got an Ego" what they believe they are referring to is the person's attitude. American people in particular would in fact often interchange the word, saying "he or she has got an attitude" assuming the two words mean more or less the same thing.

The truth however, is that Ego extends far beyond a person's social demeanor, and is actually a mild form of identity disorder. 


Ego is a personality we create in our minds in an attempt to conceal what we believe are our weaknesses. It is the urge to feel accepted and appreciated by society that gives rise to a person's Ego, and it's not uncommon for this fabricated personality to be almost the opposite of who the person really is deep down. I'm sure you can recall meeting at least one person who you later became friends with, and soon enough discovered they're nothing like what you had anticipated. That is not due to poor character judgement, but merely because that person would have deliberately chosen not to reveal their true personality. 

Now all this may not appear as anything negative, and it's not necessarily, until we begin to identify with our Ego. What that means is, we begin to believe we are our Ego and that is when unhappiness kicks in. This is because we start creating rules in our life that fulfill our Ego rather than us. Our life becomes a journey of reassurance rather than one of experiencing real joy. The reason  so many people feel unsatisfied with their life is because they are not being truthful to themselves in order to fuel their Ego. 

Make no mistake, unlike confidence which indeed contributes to a successful lifestyle, Ego is destructive. Ask yourself this: How often are disagreements between people due to an actual problem? Let's be honest, more often than not arguments are sustained due to Ego. The reluctance to accept that we could be wrong, or the uncompromising desire to have things our way simply because we believe we're worthy of it. 

Ego is the root of most evil, hence the title of this blog post. Learn to let go of your insecurities, embrace who (not what) you really are, and you'll be putting an end to your Ego, an end to the Devil within.  

7 comments:

  1. Very interesting post. You have gotten the kernel of the romance genre because that tickling of egos, the flames licking at the edges, the fragility of feelings before two people are familiar with each other, is what I think intrigues readers with a real gob-smacking romance that hits the reader in the chest, which is the kind I like. Almost like a Tango or a bull fight. Each dancing around the egos of the other, where there is pain, possible loss, intrigue, unbelievable passion from submission when the romance is finally allowed to bloom. I think this is so important. There has to be danger and a stake or it isn't meaningful. Whether it be light-hearted easy-going romance or dark and gothic, I think these elements involve the ego, if they are going to be compelling as a romance.

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  2. I guess there is a thin line between having confidence in yourself, and being egotistical - as a mom I tried to raise my kids to be self-confident, but sometimes you have to remind them that they are not the center of the world - hard to do, when they are the center of your world! Do you think maybe empathy is a good counter to egocentricity?

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  3. Excellent post Andrei.....wish more people were as intuitive as this :) Very well put!

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  4. Ego and pride are huge human downfalls. Thanks for differentiating between ego and confidence -- there's a huge difference, and an important one.

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