How to win over your ego

There’s been a long and enduring war between my ego and my self. What is the purpose of that? And how do you instill lasting peace instead? Today we’ll address how to win over your ego. This is a battle that is never won through force. Rather, it’s through surrendering. The ego is stronger than any force you can oppose to it. Hence, the only way out of this duality is to accept it completely. Unfortunately, in order to do that, you usually need to go through the full-length battle that will exhaust you and bring you to your knees. Only then, after having tried all the potential exit avenues, will you consider the option of surrendering.

So this is the key: It’s drawing you in the wrong direction so that you can find what the right direction is. The ego also has many disguises. I thought I followed my intuition for a long time until I realized that I was in fact following my ego that wanted me deep into debts. Another time I thought I was following my emotions while realizing 3 years later that it was in fact my ego that was telling me to go back to this unhealthy relationship. So how do you avoid this? My answer is… you don’t! The beauty of experiencing the bad is to benefit from the good afterwards. Most – if not all – life teachers say that overcoming a big challenge also brings big rewards. I believe that you need to go through difficult times to be able to fully enjoy the better times that come after.

But, wouldn’t it be easier to save ourselves some pain and recognize faster how to evolve and raise our awareness? I’m not so sure about that. I believe that experiencing life means going through ups and downs… and enjoying BOTH! I’m so thankful for all the challenges of my life! Of course, when you’re in the deepest of your suffering, you’re not at the thankfulness yet. But when you keep a positive outlook on things, then you recover much faster and you enjoy your newly expanded awareness so much more!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on that!

A great book to read on this topic is A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson.

Happy living!

Martin

Intuition versus ego

This morning, I finally let the anger out! After my morning run (which is great to let go of anything bothering my mind!) I started yelling and cursing at myself for not being financially responsible in the last year. All along, I thought I was following my intuition but I recently discovered that I was in fact following my ego. I spent all my money on nice hotels and restaurants and I had a GREAT time!! But now I have to watch every penny I spend to make sure I have enough until the next paycheck. So that brought up my eternal questioning about intuition versus ego.

I’m not totally disappointed in following my ego though. I see it as the “cost of learning”. Because, if I had never spent all that money, and had always “protected” myself from financial trouble, I would have never explored myself fully and known that the ego was hiding in my finances too!! So it all depends on your perception of things. I could see what I did last year as totally irresponsible and disastrous for my future and my credit score. But I choose to see it as a learning experience that allows me to know myself better. And there is just no price for that! Experiencing life SHOULD mean getting to know yourself better. KNOW THYSELF as it says on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi!

So what should I do in the future to prevent this? Or, should I even prevent this from happening again? How can I listen to my intuition better and detect when it is my ego talking? I’m not even sure if the question is relevant at all. Because, in the end, if you see everything as a learning experience, and that you enjoy your experiences all the way, then the question becomes obsolete! What matters is following the voice inside, be it your intuition versus ego, in the end, things will be alright IF YOU PERCEIVE THEM AS SUCH!! I love this quote from Wayne Dyer…

Let me know your thoughts on that!

Martin