One of the most common arguments we hear in American society is “Gee, self-esteem vs. ego.” There are two sides to every question. But what exactly is the difference between these two important concepts? Should you sacrifice your goals for your ego, or vice versa? Well, to answer this question we have to dig a little deeper into the core of human existence and the concept of self-esteem.
Ego is defined as “a mental state in which a person regards himself as being superior to others”. Ego can be a positive thing, but it can also be a negative thing. If you place too much value into your own self-esteem, you can become arrogant, self-conscious, and depressed of your own ability.
People with high levels of ego are typically arrogant and self-conscious. They think they’re better than everyone else, and they have no problem telling the world how they feel. If someone tries to talk about them, they’ll automatically criticize and comment. They will say things like “He has poor taste in clothes, he has no hobbies, and his family is poor too.” All of these things are true, but they are also overlooking one very important fact: The only person that anyone has ever control over is themselves.
You see, the ego is based on the false belief that a person is a “superstar” who doesn’t have to work for a living, or that they have complete control over their lives. This is nothing but a lie. A person has to earn their paycheck, take care of themselves physically, and work to support themselves. They do not deserve to be called “super”, and they don’t have to brag to others about who they are or what they have accomplished. In fact, if a person was arrogant and self-absorbed, they’d never achieve much in life. Self-esteem vs. ego just depend on a person’s perspective, and if they look at themselves in the right way, both ego and self-esteem are pointless.
On the other hand, a person with high self-esteem is completely unselfish and focuses on helping and supporting themselves. It is their choice to do good things instead of doing bad things, and it is their responsibility to make sure that their life turns out to be a good one. However, this does not mean that a person’s ego is not involved at all times; it only means that the focus should not be on the ego. It should be on the person’s dreams, their goals, and their success.
This is where self-esteem and ego come into play, because the person with high self-esteem will not worry about what others think of them, and will put their energy and faith into things that are positive. They will also make sure that they do things to positively affect things around them, and to improve things for those around them. However, this is not the case for people with low self-esteem. They will focus all their energy on negative things and will let their fears and failures hold them back from taking action.
For example, let’s say that a person has a dream of being a successful actor. If that person is not already successful, then they will not be able to get to where they want to be in life, because they will have low self-esteem. But, let’s also assume that this same person has a good sense of what they are capable of, and is trying to overcome some barriers. This person may be successful and even excel at certain things. This person is a great success and has managed to move past things that would hold them back, and succeed in spite of their issues.
Now, self-esteem and ego are useless, if you do not take action towards achieving your goals. But, if you are willing to do the things necessary, to move forward towards your dreams, then these things are important. However, sometimes the things we think are most important are not really all that important. And there is nothing wrong with that. In order to achieve your goals, you don’t need to put so much energy into things that you know will not make you happy. You just need to focus on the end result, which is a successful life.