One of the biggest challenges you will face on your journey to self-development is the battle to overcome the ego. Ego enslaves you. When you overcome ego, you find freedom.
The word “ego” is from Latin, and means “the self.” To the egotist, everything revolves around the self. However, far from enhancing a person’s stature, egotism diminishes it. You edge out gifts such as creativity, intuition, energy, objectiveness, wisdom, and happiness. You diminish your radiance and darken your light. As American statesman, Benjamin Franklin put it, “A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.”
Ego is shallow. It relies on our limited worldly possessions to give us power, as opposed to seeking infinite power from within ourselves.
When we annihilate our ego, the inner splendor is revealed. For the flower in us to develop, the bud has to die. Dropping the ego, like all worthwhile things in life, is not easy. It can take years of discipline and hard work before you are transformed and completely free from ego.
Here are a few suggestions to keep your ego at bay:
⁃ Refrain from judgment and relinquish control. Remember you can only control yourself, therefore, give up controlling other people and circumstances
⁃ Practice self-awareness. As you become more aware of your thoughts you’ll be surprised how many are too focused on you. Meditate daily and keep a journal to develop self-awareness. When we become sufficiently aware, the light of that awareness starts to starve the ego.
⁃ Focus on the big picture. Be driven by the importance of outcomes rather than the importance of self.
⁃ Start listening. Go beyond their words to grasp their feelings. Ask people who are close to you what they think about your behavior and actions. Be objective about what other people think about your behavior and how it affects others.
⁃ Celebrate diversity. Value the differences in others and see their strengths. Celebrate the success of others as if it were your own.
⁃ Participate in life. Absorb knowledge from every encounter, every experience, every person, every defeat, every setback, and every opportunity.
⁃ Treat work like meditation. Work so deeply that the division between the doer and the doing disappears and work becomes sacred.
⁃ Embrace humility. Humility is born when you realize that you are simply the medium for the universal abundance to flow through. You understand that when you do commendable work, feeling that there is a higher force behind you, guiding you and using you as a channel.
⁃ Practice gratitude. Write down what five things can you be grateful for today?
⁃ Be in the Present Moment. Your ego will say things such as “I should be getting more recognition” when, objectively, you are being treated appropriately. Realize that this is happening, catch yourself, and refocus on the task at hand. Focus on the present moment by experiencing the positive effect of the people, places, sights, and sounds around you.