What is Ego? and Why Does It Get a Bad Rap?

[The following is from the forthcoming book by Ken West, Ego Wins, used with permission from the publisher, Better Grip Media LLC. Permission is also granted to anyone wishing to forward this post or to repost it in its entirety as long as the author credits and links at the bottom of this excerpt are included in any sharing or reposting.]

What is Ego? and Why Does It Get a Bad Rap? 

by Ken West

Ego is you. Your ego is your self, that which has the knowledge and power to say “I.” I see. I know. I want. I will. Ego is able to grasp reality and make choices. It engages with the world, regulates impulses, solves problems, maintains psychic balance, organizes and controls consciousness. It is your active mind and intellect. It is the essential heart and soul of your psyche.

So, why does ego get a bad rap? For the most part, people mistakenly denigrate the ego because it is linked in their mind to arrogance and self-glorification. They complain about those with "big egos."

Strangely enough, those who lack healthy egos give credence to the antagonism and misconceptions about ego. They are the ones who compensate for their diminished egos by puffing themselves up and putting others down. It’s not a big ego they display to the world, but a puffed-up imposter.

To further confuse the issue, Eastern philosophers and New Age mystics urge us to negate our egos so we can become one with the universe. They urge us to deny our selfish desires and accept their world vision of an ego-less Nirvana. 

Those with a self-sufficient ego have no need to display superiority or put others down. They are too busy striving to achieve something in life. Those with healthy egos not only think highly of themselves but also of the world. They see the world as a place where happiness is desirable and possible.

Ken West is a former U.S. Army paratrooper and the author of Get What You Want, available worldwide on Amazon.com and other fine online booksellers. In the U.S. at  http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982577702. West is a former President of the New England Chapter of the National Speakers Association, and Association of Objectivist Businessmen. If you would like Ken to speak to your business or organization, he can be reached at kenwest@bettergripmedia.com. His forthcoming book, Ego Wins, will be available in the near future: http://egowins.com.