Many of us would, if we knew what on earth the ego was. Indeed, trying to understand the totality of the human psychรฉ is complex.ย Platoย and Aristotle divided our psychรฉ into three parts; so did Freud with theย id, ego,ย andย super-ego.

Modern psychologists describe the ego as theย inner-narratorย of our self-consciousness; umpiring our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The egoโ€™s judgements produce inner-conflict and creates identity crises. The ego isย impulsive rather than logical, visceral rather than reasonable.

Understanding the different ways the ego operates leads to overcoming it. Here are 8 manifestations:

1. Materialismย 

The Vedics called itย Ahaแนƒkฤra; tying your self-worth together with objectsโ€”a car, a house, a piece of jewelry.ย Ahaแนƒย refers to the Self;ย kฤraย is โ€œany created thing.โ€ When an object has the ability to make you feel better or worse, youโ€™re caught inย Ahaแนƒkฤra, of ego-attachment.

Advertisers exploit the ego and make us believe weโ€™ll feel better buying their product. Ironically, itโ€™sย low self-esteemย that increases materialism. But itโ€™s reversible;ย increasingย self-esteem through highlighting your immaterial qualities โ€” your sense of humor, your drive, your character, breaks the egoโ€™s materialistic bondage.

Find your value and identity apart from external objects โ€” the things that cannot be taken away from you.

2. Trapped in the Past

The ego can go from romanticizing yourย past, to degrading and trapping you in your past. When scars begin to heal, it rips them open again; when working toward a great future, it whispers that your best days are behind you.

Our egos are afraid of the unknown. Our past experiences โ€” good or bad โ€” areย familiar, and weโ€™re comfortable with whatโ€™s familiar. Itโ€™s the reason many stay inย bad relationships.

Realize your past does not define you, nor will it dictate your future. Although the egoโ€™s intention may be to keep you safe by being comfortable, the pull towards the past cripples what is being created in your present, and for your future.

3. Inferiority Complex

The ego doesnโ€™t just live next door to the Joneses, it mows their lawn, for free. It constantly speaks the language of โ€œnot good enough.โ€ Any achievement is undermined, any accomplishment is mocked. Overcoming theย inferiorityย caused by ego means ceasing to play the comparison game; stepping away from the rat-race.

The ego dissolves when you run your own race, and step to the beat of your own drum. Find satisfaction in who you are today, and who you will become tomorrow. When the ego keeps looking to others, you need to lookย in the mirror.

4. Limitations and Scarcity

Our brainโ€™sย reticular activation systemย (RAS) brings to attention what we subconsciously mark as important. If youโ€™re considering a new BMW, youโ€™ll start noticing them everywhere.

The egoโ€™s focus is one of limitation; itโ€™s short sighted, and driven by fear of running out. As a result, your RAS sees everything in aย limited sense: not only finances, but also happiness and healthy relationships.

The ego always see the glass half empty and the cloud without the silver lining. Our perceptions shape reality, if you focus on limitations, you will surely experience them. Silence the ego, and choose to see the world of abundant possibilities.

5. Self-Sabotage

Alfred Lord Tennyson said, โ€œโ€˜Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.โ€ The ego doesnโ€™t think so. Itย prefers to keep you in bubble-wrap rather than risk being hurt. And so when something isย heading in a good direction, the ego orchestratesย destructive behaviorย to avoid the โ€˜riskโ€™ and stay safe. Remember the ego is afraid of the unknown, good or bad.

Embrace the experience, and be conscious of your ego trying to steer you off course just because youโ€™re heading toward an unknown destination. Never let a potential โ€˜sadโ€™ ending overshadow an incredible experience.

6. The Stoic

The ego doesnโ€™t like being naked โ€” emotionally. It equates transparency and vulnerability withย weakness, so it puts up walls. But these walls truncate the full expression of your human self. Emotions are healthy, and should never be bottled up. It causes us to live less than who we truly are.

To let fear, ridicule, and judgment block your untethered emotions and beliefs is to hide behind the veil of ego.

7. Reacting Rather Than Respondingย 

The ego is like an electric fence protecting a false, elevated identity โ€” ready to react at any minute. Every comment isย an insult, and any advice is criticism. Itโ€™s not just wearing your heart on your sleeve, itโ€™s wearing your self-worth on your sleeve, and then picking a fight.

The ego-free person is able to process before responding, to restrain the visceral and make room for the reasonable, to think before acting. Understand that personal attacks from other people reflects more of their character than yours; that will help your hyperactive-bodyguard ego to relax.

8. The Tyrant of Productivity

Weโ€™reย workaholicsย because the ego measures our value by what we achieve and produce. Yet there is something profound in simply who we are as human beings. Weโ€™re surrounded with infinite galaxies, but we are a speck. However, we are a speck with theย consciousnessย to somehow grasp the infinite. We are a nail that understands it is part of a mansion.

But the egoย gets lost in productivity and forgetsย reflection, awe, and appreciation. To create is a amazing ability โ€” but itโ€™s a byproduct of our amazing being. From being comes creating, not the other way around.

Contributor

Recently Published

Key Takeaways: Stock market enthusiasts often claim to predict financial market trends with great accuracy, but this is not possible due to the uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the environments in which we make daily decisions. Human cognition tends to favor a reductionist approach to information processing, sometimes called “tunneling,” which can lead to biased […]

Top Picks

Key Takeaway: In 1967, French philosopher Guy Debord argued that we should not be passively consumed by images, but rather engage with them. The Situationist International movement, formed in 1957, aimed to create new ways to reflect on and experience cities as acts of resistance against profit-motivated capitalist structures. The group’s philosophy suggests that we […]

Trending

I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Instituteโ€™s new report, โ€œReskilling China: Transforming The Worldโ€™s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learnersโ€, which focuses on the countryโ€™s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […]

Join our Newsletter

Get our monthly recap with the latest news, articles and resources.

Login

Welcome to Empirics

We are glad you have decided to join our mission of gathering the collective knowledge of Asia!
Join Empirics