“ The ego represents what we call reason and sanity, in contrast to the id which contains the passions.” – Sigmund Freud.
Ego is ego, it is one’s individuality, the thoughts, behaviors and experiences that make a person exactly who they are – unique.
It is your conscious mind, the part of your identity that you consider yourself.’ It’s all about you and the misunderstood brother of pride. Invariably referred to negatively.
The id ego is the impulsive part of a person’s personality that is driven by pleasures and superego is the judgemental and morally correct part of a person’s personality.
Ego is basically the conscious part of a person’s personality that mediates between the id ego and the superego and helps in decision making. Now that we have a clear picture about ‘what ego is all about’ let’s try and understand ego, and how it impacts us.
Many people are of the opinion that ego is merely an illusion and in no way does it have a spiritual inclination !
Yes, it can be said that it is an illusion, for ego is all about who ‘you’ are to begin with. Everyone of us has an ego. That form of ego that helps build up our confidence to face and overcome our fears which is healthy. Having this kind of ego a person strives to get to know themselves, they live in the moment and are generally humble.
It is also true that ego is rooted in spirituality. It takes an amount of commitment to look inwardly and when we do, we will realize that we humans are eternal beings and this material world keeps us away from looking inwardly to get to know ‘who we really are !’
‘It is a great spiritual truth of life that all that comes to us from life is merely a reflection of something in us that needs to change.’ This in a way helps a person to overcome external forces.
It becomes a problem when a person begins to believe in ‘a certain personality that they are not ‘that is an illusion. Ego here, overshadows everything and renders a person irrational.
No doubt, self esteem and confidence are important to survive in this big bad world, but ego is the thing that is tearing us apart and can be destructive. This kind of ego is unhealthy and gives a person a false sense of their identity and who they really are !
One tends to feel separate from others, indifferent to the feelings of people and can even become heartless. Such an ego does not allow a person to think wisely anymore. They seek pleasure at any cost and when things go wrong they tend to blame others.
This type of ego makes a person feel insecure and competitive in an unhealthy way and it seeks to control and dominate people.
Subsequently pushing nice people away without friends and unhappy.
The idea isn’t about getting rid of ego. It is important to understand ‘self’ and who you are. Your strengths and weaknesses and by working on them you are eventually able to control your unhealthy ego or else it will get in the way of life, relationships and career.
You alone can understand yourself and work on building your personality or it will destroy you !
If everything that defines who you are as a person is taken away, what would remain of you, that is who you really are without ego. Your ego is not who you are, it is merely a protection mechanism,
a shield to protect you.
What one needs to do is strike a balance in order to control your ego. It would be a good idea to be realistic or grounded in reality, humble – this will make a difference, compassionate and understanding of other people’s sufferings and most of all always remember it ain’t always about the ‘me’ or ‘I’ but about us as a whole. Accept every person for who they are, rich or poor.
Not forgetting that having a healthy ego means we are able to maintain a healthy sense of self. Any Imbalance will lead to excessive self centeredness.
Cheers ✍️