WTF Is The Ego & Why Do We Need It?

My favourite subject - The Ego

Most people don’t like talking about the ego, because most don’t fully understand what it is. But, if we want to be in control of our life and our thoughts, we should know how the ego works.

I’m not talking about what we would usually think of as ego - an arrogant man, or a "stuck up" woman. This is ego, but there’s so much more to it than that.

We all have an ego, we need it. If we didn’t have an ego, we would have no self esteem, and no urgency to do anything. I believe that there is a healthy ego, and an unhealthy ego. This is why I don’t really believe when “guru’s” say they have no ego. I think they just have a new, more conscious and enlightened ego. The ego is basically our inner child. It’s formed from experiences we’ve had throughout life.

We need the ego, but it can easily get out of control, and become very self centered, and judgmental.

The ego shows up in everything! It can be a total bloody pain in the arse, at times! It wants to protect us, it doesn’t like to be proven wrong, it’s the ego that gets triggered by things, and always wants to be right. GOD FORBID YOU’RE IN THE WRONG! Ego Regina will be straight there to tell you you’re not! 😆

When we recognise the ego for what it is, and how it shows up, we can start to be aware of our unconscious thought patterns and reactions, and start to make changes.

I actually think it’s good to give it a name, and call it out when it shows up, unwanted.

It’s also good to reassure the ego. If it’s triggered, affirm it. Tell it that it’s safe in this moment, if you find yourself going back to a time when you weren’t safe. Whatever the situation is that you find your ego popping up, you can change the narrative that goes on in your mind. We need to make friends with the ego.

The ego can also bring up shame. This is why most people avoid talking about it, or doing work on themselves. You will likely feel guilt or shame when you start looking at the parts of yourself that you aren't fully accepting of, or if you're proven wrong, or when someone calls you out on your bullshit. It's important to remember that no one is perfect, and no one ever will be. It takes courage to acknowledge your "shadow" parts, and learn to love them, accept them, but to work on changing any behavior's that aren't serving you, or others.

This takes work but it can be done. The more you practice, the easier it gets. It becomes automatic. I used to be totally controlled by my ego (still working on it), but I have chose to make changes, and recognise it for what it is. I've learned to actually like being triggered, because it highlights the parts of myself that still need healing. I laugh sometimes, when she pops up. Pipe down Regina, it’s all good here! 😆✨

P.S - your ego will probably be triggered by this.