Happy Friday Everyone!
Ego can be defined as a person's sense of self-importance. In Ryan Holiday's book entitled Ego is the Enemy, Holiday writes: "The ego we see most commonly goes by a more casual definition: an unhealthy belief in our own importance. Arrogance. Self-centered ambition...It's that petulant child inside every person, the one that chooses getting his or her way over anything or anyone else. The need to be better than, more than, recognized for, far past any reasonable utility - that's ego. It's the sense of superiority and certainty that exceeds the bounds of confidence and talent."
Too much ego will keep you out of touch with reality and will cause poor decision making. It will create unrealistic expectations and a sense of entitlement. It will make a person dependent on external validation rather than realizing their own value. These reasons and many others are why you have heard a leader, coach, teacher, parent, grandparent, or teammate say: "Leave your ego at the door!". When we leave our ego at the door, we can focus on being our best self, rather than trying to be someone else. We can focus on personal effort, not personal recognition. We can make other people successful, without jealousy. When we leave our egos at the door, we can walk into an environment where success of the whole is greater than any individual success. An environment where every individual is valued for the accomplishments of the whole group. When we make the effort to leave our egos at the door, we will find unity, appreciation, and success.
Happy Friday!!