How can your ego ruin your life

There are so many different concepts of how the human ego works. There are psychological explanations as well as religious ones. For me, at some point, they refer to the same idea. In this post, I don’t want to deepen into the ego concept, but I want to reveal my understanding of the ego and its ways of being a significant impediment to a healthy future.

Usually, nonsatisfaction leads to the desire to possess more, leading to more action, leading to more busyness, leading to more stress, leading to less time for oneself, for the beloved ones, and less free time for hobbies. In most cases, this “more” means more materialistic things like more money, a bigger house, a better car, more expensive vacations, a higher position at work, and so on. Of course, there is nothing wrong with trying to gain all those things. Still, this post’s primary message is not to become a prisoner of wishes and a time when you have reached the impossible. Instead, i love being a life explorer and enjoying the time with everything I already have.

What is the ego?

It is a human being’s built-in mechanism that pushes you to want more than anything you have and never be satisfied with whatever you have. Moreover, it can give you an imagination of a perfect you, where you are always more knowledgable, smarter, healthier, wealthier, and better in any aspect than anyone else.

How does it work?

As a basic example, suppose I am earning $200 a month, and this is enough to pay my monthly bills, buy enough food and everything that I am in need, plus even some savings. However, I am still striving to gain more without any substantial reason; this motivation might come from my ego. Not only the wealth aspect but also the uncontrolled consumption of processed food, alcoholic drinks, drugs, and so on belong to things that your ego is trying to make you crave exaggerated amounts.

The ego can never be satisfied with worldly things no matter how worthy they are, and unfortunately, it is characteristic of every human being in the world. Some have a stronger ego and are never satisfied with what they have, and some find conscious or unconscious ways to control it.

How can you control it?

This can actually be the million-dollar question since there are no scientifically 100% proven ways to control the ego. However, here is my approach: “Be satisfied with what you have today and obtain just enough to survive up to the next day”. Of course, this sentence is a metaphor, but you get the idea. However, this shouldn’t lead to laziness because it also comes from the ego. I want you to find a balance between things you enjoy in life and things you really need. What you enjoy depends on what you are satisfied with. If you are never satisfied with something, you will never enjoy anything.