Ego and Self Esteem | UPSC | IAS | K. Siddhartha Sir

EGO AND SELF-ESTEEM

Why is that Indians who are highly talented, lag behind- is it talent or attitude; why is that Indians are Hobbesian, why is that most of the cities have a culture of snobbery, why is that we waste our time more on pulling down others, envying them, being jealous of them rather than focusing on ourself, improving on ourself; why is that we take most of our decisions on the basis of perception, rather than on reality, why is that we prefer to bribe our priests and our gods too, rather than dispensing the same amount to the poor….

This happens because we nurse our sego more than our self-esteem,

Now the issue is-what is the impact of ego on attitude, and how is it different from self-esteem.

Ego blinkers your vision, constricts your thinking, it makes you narrow minded, stops your adaptability (it’s not the best species that survive, but the most adaptable), prevents your observation-power, blurs your communication, stops your learning process, inhibits your innovative ability and empties your social capital.

Self-esteem is different from ego. In self-esteem you always improve upon yourself, always make yourself better, you only compete with yourself so that you are improved to an extent that you are head and shoulders above others.

In ego, you always try to make the others feel down, you look them down, prevent them from rising, and development by obstructing them, and then in some extreme you always try to degrade them.

In self-esteem, you improve yourself to your satisfaction, beyond anyone’s reach without imitation, self-esteem improves your satisfaction, your contentment and your ability to know yourself.

In ego you try to change others, obviously this is strength, in self-esteem you control yourself, you overpower yourself and that is absolute power.

Ego makes you judgmental, self-esteem adaptable, and a learner.

Ego prevents innovation, self-esteem propels you towards innovation, and its diffusion.

Ego clutters your mind, self-esteem empties it, allows free interaction.

Ego makes you think inward, self-esteem make you the friend of the world.

Ego prevents your receptivity; self-esteem increases your receptivity.

Ego is weakness self-esteem is strength.