Do You Allow Your Ego To Lead Out?

Our ego is that self centred voice in our head that wants to be satisfied but never is. Its the egotistical or selfish side of us. The ego is obsessed with winning at all costs. The ego is fearful and takes offense easily. The ego only thinks of itself and is not interested in others.

When we are faced with any given situation but particularly with a challenging situation, we need to be careful we don't allow the ego to lead out. We need to keep our ego in check and when we do feel like taking offense, we can say to ourselves, 'Oh that is just the ego getting upset". If we can take a step back and separate the ego from ourselves and understand that the ego is not us and that we are more than the ego, then we can realise that we do not have to listen to it at all.

When the ego pipes in with its thoughts or demands, we have a choice of whether we listen to it or not. The ego is an invitation, albeit a rather demanding one, but an invitation nonetheless. We can know when the ego has surfaced because our temperature starts to rise, we become hot under the collar, defensive, even angry and confrontational. Other times we put a wall up and we pull away and cut ourselves off. We become disinterested in others perspectives and refuse to listen or understand. It is also interesting to tune into our heart because in this situation our heart begins to harden, shrivel and move back into its cavity.  

When we tell our ego to pipe down and get over themselves, we give opportunity for our compassion to step up and take over. Now we are leading out with love and understanding and we can come to realise that other's perspectives are their own due to limited understandings and we don't have to let them effect us. To read more about how to keep our cool and perspective in an emotionally charged situation go here

The ego is self serving and will not lead you to happiness. When we lead out with compassion and love on the other hand, we will find greater opportunity for connecting with others. Our heart will be opened and we will enjoy feelings such as forgiveness, joy, gratitude and courage. Life will be more enjoyable for everyone but especially for ourselves.