Have you ever wondered thinking what is ego and how to let go of your ego? The ego is that voice in your head that tells you you aren’t good enough, can’t do something, or aren’t worthy of love and happiness. Once you learn to distinguish your true self from your ego, you can change how you think and act in the world.
Before we begin this topic on how to let go of your ego, I want to tell you something.
Remember the Eggo waffle commercial?
As the Eggo popped out of the toaster, two siblings make a grab for it and a scuffle ensues. Then comes the multimillion-dollar line: “Leggo my Eggo!”
Whatever your “Eggo” is – whatever you love – you want to make sure to hold onto it tight and get ready to fight off anything that gets in your way!
But your EGO is different. While it’s important to hold onto your Eggo, your ego is something you’ll want to learn to let go of, for good reason.
Your ego often likes to put up roadblocks on the path to your dreams.
Furthermore, it can often lead you to waffle on important decisions that would take you closer to your true destiny.
What is the ego anyway? Whereas your intuition is generally associated with the right, more creative side of your brain your ego is associated with the left, more logical and rational side of your brain.
Ego is associated with reason and reality or, at least, perceptions of such while intuition is closely linked to passion and internal instincts.
You could say that your intuition is your inner voice and that your ego represents your outer voice.
Remember, your intuition always speaks to you first, letting you know what you truly want. It is self love and self care.
Your ego always speaks second and will challenge your intuition, causing you to question what you want. Whenever you’re questioning what you want that’s your ego at work.
Intuition is truth; ego is doubt and fear.
When your intuition speaks, it speaks your truth, expressing who you truly are and what you truly desire.
For instance, when presented with the opportunity to take a step in a new career direction, your intuition might say YES!! You ego will speak second and will generally speak to your fears or false beliefs.
“But you can’t start a new career now, you’re too old what about your mortgage your job now is secure how will you cope if it doesn’t work out?”
When you listen to your ego you are not honouring who you truly are, what you truly wish to be and who you are truly meant to become.
Your ego likes to challenge you and it will also try to get you to believe that you are something that you’re not.
Many people get stuck in the trap of thinking that who they are is wrapped up in their job, home, car, relationship or the things that surround them.
You are not what you see on the outside.
Who you are comes from what you find on the inside. Because our ego is associated with “reality” or at least, our perceived reality, it can feel comfortable to hold onto it.
It seems tangible, familiar and something that we know. It’s rational.
For example, you have a job. You go to your job every day. You know that you have a job. That can feel familiar and comfortable, almost reassuring.
On the other hand, our intuition can seem esoteric.
It’s a bit uncomfortable because it can seem intangible, unfamiliar and something that we don’t really know. It often doesn’t make rational sense.
For example, say that you have a feeling that something is wrong with your health. You don’t know for sure because you haven’t seen the doctor, it’s just a strong hunch that you have.
That can feel unfamiliar and frightening to you as you consider the unknown.
Letting go of your ego can feel like letting go of the certainty of that which you know for the uncertainty of that which you don’t know.
However, look at it this way. Your job, your home, your car, your relationship and all the things that surround you are impermanent. They can come and go from your life at any time
What is permanent is You. Not your Ego.
Who would you be if you didn’t have your job?
Who are you outside of your relationship?
Who are you without all the “stuff” in your life?
When you can let go of your ego and answer these kinds of questions that is the moment when you’ll begin to feel more connected to your truth, more in tune with your true self and more in tune with your destiny.
Like anything in life, there is a bright side to your ego too.
While learning to let go of your ego allows you to follow your true path, a key part of the adversarial role of the ego is to remind you of who you are.
Your ego simply provides contrast which allows you to discover and strengthen your own truth.
When beginning to use the Law of Attraction, for instance, you need to know what you want to create.
A good starting point for discovering what you want is discovering what you don’t want.
Your ego is what allows you to discover who you truly are, by enabling you to figure out – through doubting, questioning, planning, and analyzing - who you are not.
Common ways in which your ego will let its presence be known.
1. Your Ego is concerned with what others think.
Who you are independent of what other people think is the most authentic person you will ever be. We live in a world however in which most people are overly concerned with what others think.
What would people say if I left my job? What would people think if I didn’t live in this big house? What would people say if I ended my relationship?
Lady Gaga is a wonderful example of a person who lives authentically and who isn’t concerned with what others think.
And most notably, she is not chastised for that fact, instead she is admired for her courage and comfort in her own skin.
In fact, she inspires fans around the world to follow her example. While your ego would like you to believe that the question is about what others might think, the question really is “Who do I want to be?”
2. Your Ego is afraid to ask for help.
Your ego would like you to believe that you can do it all, that you deserve all the credit, that you don’t need help or that you must appear strong.
If you’re afraid or don’t want to ask for help then your ego, not you, is in the driver’s seat. Your ego is telling you that if you ask for help, you might appear “weak”, “dependent” or “stupid”.
Have you ever spent time wandering lost while travelling, trying to find your own way, without asking for help?
Whether you spent 10 minutes or 10 hours lost, you would likely have been more successful in reaching your dreams sooner if only you’d asked for help.
3. You Ego keeps comparing or competing with others.
Your ego loves to compare yourself to others yet it’s one of the most dangerous traps that you can fall into.
No matter who you are or how successful you may be there will always be someone who is “better” and someone who is “worse” than you are.
If you continually compare yourself to or compete with those around you, you will never be satisfied.
Remember, those around you are travelling their own path just as you are travelling yours. Your path is unique, with unique challenges, stories, opportunities and successes; as is theirs.
Celebrate your path, have gratitude in your heart, your achievements and your incomparable uniqueness without comparing your path to the path of others.
4. Your Ego is constant striving for more.
A bigger house. A fancier car. A higher-paying, more responsible job. More clothes. More food. More gadgets. More. More. More.
Your ego loves to try to convince you that you need more stuff in order to be happy.
In fact, the opposite is true. Striving for more can become a perpetual cycle that never brings true happiness.
Instead, striving only serves to take you further away from knowing who you truly are.
5. Your Ego avoids the present moment.
If you like to spend time thinking about the past or looking ahead to the future, then you can be sure that your ego is stopping you from enjoying the present.
You might be tempted to look back on the past with a thought such as “if only I had ....” You might look ahead to the future with a thought such as “when this happens, then I’ll be happy....” or you might look ahead with worry.
Either way, you’re neglecting to enjoy the present moment which is where you are right now.
6. Your Ego always feels the need to be right.
This is one of the ego’s most destructive functions. People who have a constant need to be right will often get far in life due to their sheer persistence and aggressiveness.
However, their need to be right will also be their downfall eventually alienating those around them who could help move them forward towards even greater success.
No one is perfect and there’s no need to struggle under the illusion that you are either.
Exercise: One Week Without An Ego To Let Go of Your Ego.
Each day, for one week, practice letting go of your ego in the areas mentioned above.
Day 1: Concern with what others think.
Do something that you want to do, without worrying about what others may think. Change your hair color, sign up for a dance class, apply for a new job. If it’s really what you’d like to do, do it. And tell the others about it later
Day 2: Afraid to ask for help.
Ask for help with whatever you need. Whether it’s moving, going shopping, completing tasks around the house, whatever it is, practice asking for help from others.
Day 3: Comparing or competing with others.
If you catch yourself competing with others on this day, stop and appreciate yourself, your skills and your accomplishments.
Day 4: Constant striving for more.
Take a day to appreciate the simple things in your life.
Day 5: Lack of presence.
Spend time focused in the now. Appreciate your current circumstances, show gratitude, appreciate your surroundings, people around you, everything that is in your life now. The past and future don’t belong in your present.
Day 6: The need to be right.
Be kind towards others and relinquish the need to be right. If, by chance you do find yourself in an argument or debate, you can kindly keep on track by saying to the other, “You know what? You’re right.” You’ll find that a little bit of kindness equals a lot of feeling good.
Try these 6 exercise for the next 6 days and see how it will help you to let go of your ego and transform your life dramatically.
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