The ego, however, is not who you really are. The ego is your self-image, it is your social mask, it is the role you are playing. Your social mask thrives on approval. It wants control, and it is sustained by power because it lives in fear. – Ram Dass
We all have egos. Those are the parts of ourselves that are full of self-importance and that are fragile, reacting to every perceived slight and always on the lookout for ourselves. The ego can sometimes be useful, but more often than not, it affects our lives in negative ways. If you try to leave your ego behind, you might find a lot of improvements to your day-to-day.
Let’s take a look at the advantages of putting aside your ego.
You won’t get stressed over small things
Your ego gives a lot of importance to small things. You might spend hours considering why someone did not answer your text or why a person was slightly more chilly in their attitude. Your ego suggests that all of these things are related to you, so you consider them over and over, wasting time and energy.
It leads to a lot more stress. When you set aside your ego, you can focus on what truly matters and leave the rest be. This helps you stay relaxed and keep your cool in most situations.
It keeps you cool under pressure
Our egos tend to lead to overreactions. We might blow up because of something small, as it feels like a huge affront to who we are. When we are under pressure, the ego makes us worry about doing things perfectly and showing off our skills, which can undermine our ability to complete a project successfully.
When we let go of ego, we can focus on what truly matters: the process, rather than how we appear throughout this process.
You can understand others better
Ego interferes with empathy. It makes it harder for you to relate to others and to understand why they act in a certain way. The ego makes you center yourself and look at everything from your position, without being able to truly connect to another person’s emotional state and reasons.
When you do it better, you can learn a lot about the world and the people around you. You can understand why others make choices, allowing you to accept those decisions and to influence them by appealing to a person’s genuine needs. It helps you be empathetic.
It improves your relationships
Putting aside your ego can help you significantly improve your relationships. It helps you practice gratitude, kindness, altruism, and other things that are great for strengthening your bonds with other people. Your ego can stand in the way of being thankful because you feel the need to attribute everything good to yourself.
It can limit your kindness, because you are focused on your own needs and desires. It can limit your ability to forgive, because you get too caught up in your own wounded pride. By letting go of your ego, you can significantly strengthen your relationships, make them deeper and stronger, and more.
It helps you become more resilient
Your ego makes you more fragile. You tend to take everything personally, because you are centered in your perspective and the current situation you’re going through. It can be harder to see the bigger picture or recognize that something is only temporary, since your ego is too caught up in the negative emotions you experience and continuously builds them up.
When you let it go, you can better face all the negative things in life, as you learn not to take them personally and not to build them up to be bigger than they truly are.
It helps you see yourself authentically
Your ego is not your true self. Instead, it is a mask you put on that does not allow you to see who you truly are, what you want, and what you fear. An ego is based on a false image of yourself that does not tolerate mistakes, flaws, or deviations from the norm. When you let it go, you can see who you truly are and accept yourself and others fully.
