Not many of us know that ‘Ego’ can become a great obstacle to our personal development without even being aware of it. This is because it is little difficult for most people to identify ego as most of the literature on it identifies symptoms like arrogance, stubbornness, fear of judgement, fear of failure, amongst others, but it misses the key point.
All of these elements have one core element in common: they only occur when you’re dependent on the external environment to feel the way you want to feel. When you rely on the other people’s perceptions to feel good, then you’re going to fear judgement, you’re going to fear failure, you’re going to fight to prove a point that you know is wrong, and you’re going to try and blame others for your situation in life.
This is what’s at the core of the Ego ie. being dependent on the external environment to feel the way you want to feel. The one who has ego, always struggles for his/her survival. Such a person’s mind wants to think and make plans out of nothing, making an important “something” with a disturbing meaning.
Remember, as long as there is a desire within us to be something, we will be experiencing ego.This is because desires work in future tense and while pursuing them, we forget about the necessity of living in now ie. the present.
Mahatma Gandhi, in his autobiography said: “Act like a trustee who, though having control over great possessions, regards not an iota of them as his own”. This stage can be achieved with humility as it gives us great ability to act and accomplish missions as a trustee and not with the feeling of ownership.
Humility means an absence of anger, aggression, selfish motivation or a hidden agenda. It is in no way an act of subservience or weakness but the characteristic of strength and power.So, let’s try to be humble, sweet, polite with everyone and embark on a journey of being egoless by being aware about our true self and simply embrace change without any desire by being in one’s natural state of soul consciousness.