What Is The Ego & How To Use It To Be Happier

I was introduced to the concept of the ego during a meditation class around ten years ago. I had heard the word before, but until that day I had only heard negative things about it. 

Having zero understanding of the concept, I blindly believed what others said about it. That it was a negative part of ourselves, that we needed to defeat it and get rid of it, that it was evil, that it was our weakness as humans. 

I remember that this made me feel as if something very evil that I did not choose lived inside me, and I did not like it. But at the same time, I would not do anything about it, I didn't know-how. 

Now that I have a greater understanding of the ego, all of that seems a bit ridiculous, but it made sense for me at that time. 

I will start by sharing with you what the ego is NOT!

• The ego is not your enemy.
• The ego is not something we can get rid of.
• The ego is not negative.
• The ego is not another person that lives within you.
• The ego is not a spiritual concept unless you choose to see it that way.

What is the ego?

• The ego is the part of us that reacts to painful emotions. 
• The ego is an ally in our evolution.
• The ego can mirror our inner child.
• The ego is the part of us that is in a constant search for love. 

It is time to start building a healthy relationship with ourselves by understanding our ego.

I want to share with you, three different ways how your ego can supports your happiness (if you allow it): 

1. It uncovers you. The ego can show you your deepest emotional pain points, unresolved trauma, and emotional wounds. It will feel offended by a political facebook post. It will not agree with your boyfriend's lack of understanding of your emotions. It will feel irritated in traffic and hurt because someone didn't keep their word. All these things can seem like insignificant human reactions unless we choose to use them to get a deeper understanding of our emotional patterns. The ego can help you uncover the parts of you that need your love and attention.  
2.  It keeps you in check. The trickiest part about the ego, it that we cannot get rid of it. We can deny it, and choose to not believe in it, but it will still play a part in our life. For example, you can choose to not believe in gravity, but that will not change the fact that it exists. What this means, is that we were born with a personalized emotional evolutionary software, called the ego. It is in place to make sure that we always have an opportunity to grow and evolve emotionally. How awesome is that! If you want to start having a better relationship with yourself, start seeing your ego a positive thing. 
3. It keeps you humble and vulnerable. One of the most beautiful things about our ego is that it can show us the most vulnerable parts of ourselves. The parts that lead us to understand compassion, forgiveness, and humility. The parts of us that make us human. You most likely can relate to the fact that sometimes a painful life experience, brought a great awakening. It showed you deeper love, peace, and gratitude, that was your ego. Isn't that awesome? Your ego loves you profoundly.

For me, learning to care for my emotions using the Ego Roadmap, is what helped me reach my biggest breakthroughs. It helped me understand and love myself like never before. I started by paying attention to simple emotions and with time, it transformed my life. 

If you are wanting to learn to have a daily emotional self-care practice you can watch my FREE Emotional Check-in master class here.