EGO,Latin for "I".
How big an EGO has to be?
Just big enough to contain the Personality!
Make it any bigger,and you can bet some Idiot comes along and sticks a Pin into it,and poof it goes like a Balloon!

Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egoist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge or act. These are functions of the self.

Here the basic reversal is most deadly. The issue has been perverted and man has been left no alternative—and no freedom. As poles of good and evil, he was offered two conceptions: egoism and altruism. Egoism was held to mean the sacrifice of others to self. Altruism—the sacrifice of self to others. This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain borne for the sake of others or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self. When it was added that man must find joy in self-immolation, the trap was closed. Man was forced to accept masochism as his ideal—under the threat that sadism was his only alternative. This was the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind.

This was the device by which dependence and suffering were perpetuated as fundamentals of life.

The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination. The choice is independence or dependence. The code of the creator or the code of the second-hander. This is the basic issue. It rests upon the alternative of life or death. The code of the creator is built on the needs of the reasoning mind which allows man to survive. The code of the second-hander is built on the needs of a mind incapable of survival. All that which proceeds from man’s independent ego is good. All that which proceeds from man’s dependence upon men is evil.

The egoist in the absolute sense is not the man who sacrifices others. He is the man who stands above the need of using others in any manner. He does not function through them. He is not concerned with them in any primary matter. Not in his aim, not in his motive, not in his thinking, not in his desires, not in the source of his energy. He does not exist for any other man—and he asks no other man to exist for him. This is the only form of brotherhood and mutual respect possible between men.

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/selfishness.html

I totally agree with you about "looking inward" and trying to learn from our mistakes in life...Back in the 80's I had a singles' publication. One of our regular writers (a psychologist) wrote an article called: "Handling Rejection."...He encouraged our readers to take some tips from successful salespeople when it comes to rejection (And having doors slammed in their faces.)..Successful salepeople don't sit around and mope and sulk and pout and feel sorry for themselves just because they hear a lot of "no's."...They keep picking themselves up time after time and knock on more doors...And this is why they earn high sales! They refuse to give-up or "drown" in self-pity! They've taught themselves how to handle rejection and don't take everything "personally."...P/S: He also pointed out that successful salespeople routinely examine their "approach" and try to "sharpen" their skills at every point along the way.

big ego =narsassitic personality ...taboo personality advice run forest run

small ego = some one of low self confidence ...awe advice give them a hug

my ego is ecentric just me and wisdom , and couldnt give a flying ??? what folk think lol



MC HAMMER attitude about my emotions .

cant touch this da daa da daa da daa da daa oh oh ohhh oh oh ohh ohh ohh happy time

I don't really believe in ego. Just high self-esteem or low self-esteem.

The ego is a demanding force that is never satisfied.

to me ego is merely self interest

as a repeated theme, there is something to be said about a balance of EGO and GENEROSITY

whenever one lives too much to the extreme of one side or the other there is issues

the egocentric life is of no value to anything but itself, and the egoless completely generous life doesnt survive long


we need a healthy balance of interest in our own survival and generosity towards our environment and fellow human beings,,

EGO comes from Latin,and means "I"!

Abe Lincoln was always teased about his Long Legs,and People would ask him how long a Man's Legs would have to be,to which he answered,"Just long enough to reach the Ground!

Paraphrasing him,"How Big does a Man's Ego have to be?
Just big enough to hold his personality!
Anything else is a Fraud!

Aristotle warned of Undue Humility and Excessive Pride!

*************

Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egoist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge or act. These are functions of the self.

Here the basic reversal is most deadly. The issue has been perverted and man has been left no alternative—and no freedom. As poles of good and evil, he was offered two conceptions: egoism and altruism. Egoism was held to mean the sacrifice of others to self. Altruism—the sacrifice of self to others. This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain borne for the sake of others or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self. When it was added that man must find joy in self-immolation, the trap was closed. Man was forced to accept masochism as his ideal—under the threat that sadism was his only alternative. This was the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind.

This was the device by which dependence and suffering were perpetuated as fundamentals of life.

The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination. The choice is independence or dependence. The code of the creator or the code of the second-hander. This is the basic issue. It rests upon the alternative of life or death. The code of the creator is built on the needs of the reasoning mind which allows man to survive. The code of the second-hander is built on the needs of a mind incapable of survival. All that which proceeds from man’s independent ego is good. All that which proceeds from man’s dependence upon men is evil.

The egoist in the absolute sense is not the man who sacrifices others. He is the man who stands above the need of using others in any manner. He does not function through them. He is not concerned with them in any primary matter. Not in his aim, not in his motive, not in his thinking, not in his desires, not in the source of his energy. He does not exist for any other man—and he asks no other man to exist for him. This is the only form of brotherhood and mutual respect possible between men.

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/selfishness.html

To me....

The delicate jungle orchids who cant stand competition are the ones who whine about those of us who gots da big egos.

We with the egos, don't actually give the rest of you thought or consideration.

It is nothing personal...we just do our thing...have fun, socialize and take over the party. It is what we do.

People with schriveled nonexistent egos...bow thier heads, avert their eyes, mumble...and resent those of us who can make nice with every one.

I am who I am and I will be damned if I will ever apologize for being me.

That is a good ego.

Anyone who don't like it...can go down to their room in moms basement...and let me know how wrong I am.

Amen.

I think it's a tightrope everyone has to walk in some way or other. Many of us in my generation and the one below mine, for example, were raised in a time frame where the pervading attitude was that kids should always be told they're wonderful. I remember a TV spot regularly shown during Saturday-morning kids' shows in the 70s; it was called "The Most Important Person" and the idea was to tell children viewing it that they were the most important person in their worlds. Great for self-esteem, I suppose, but not so much for creating balanced and well-adjusted psyches in either the child who receives that message, or the adult s/he will later become.

Self-esteem and humility have to be learned side-by-side from childhood, and it can be tricky. Some people never master the balance, and go too far to one side or the other. Neither is good, though erring too much on the side of humility is perhaps preferable as long as it doesn't slide over into low self-esteem.

I struggle with this one myself, because I know I have an ego. (Stereotypical problem in the performing arts community, and one of those stereotypes that has its basis in reality.) If anybody around here sees me coming off as egotistical, feel free to PM me and smack me around, okay?

true

it's important to understand the context in which someone is discussing "ego"

it is simply a common psychology term, or an insult lol

I like a good deal of what you are saying here. I think many struggle with this balancing act. personally I think ones ego is valuable. you have earned your ego or pride ( as ego seems to be used in this context) in your work that you have worked so hard on. but it's how one carries it. do you simply accept praise with grace, or run around bragging? see the difference?

I like the whole damn thing Krupie!...

to me it sounds like someone who is inconsiderate with a larger opinion of the self than is realistic. but those of us wh odo not beahve that way are fine if that is how he feels as long as his "ego" is not affecting us in a negative way. I don't usually care for that type of person he describes because I do not like inconsiderate people. tho I have enjoyed many of krupa's comments on here and like him. so I guess it would again, depend on the context.

Yes, I do. And I know that in myself, when I'm feeling confident and good, grace is easy. When something has me feeling insecure, it can make me more prone to brag as a way of shoring up my own defenses against that insecure feeling. I think a lot of people do that. (Gee, maybe I'm almost 'normal'? LOL)

There's a Buddhist proverb that goes, "Before enlightenment... chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment... chop wood, carry water." I think that can apply to both enlightenment and achievement, and it's useful to bear in mind. I try. Sometimes I succeed. (And I haven't actually achieved all that much in life, hence the days when I do feel a bit insecure.)

achieved related to what? any achievement has value that we can feel good about I think. do you see?

our ego is more than what we have achieved. and our achievements can be best measured by where we started.

I may admire a man who has great status (or woman) if he inherited that status I may still admire him, for example, were he still wise enough to chop wood, carry water - (sound ego). I may admire the man more (or woman) who achieved maybe a lesser status but came from nothing - poverty and sorrow with little advantage because of the fortitude required to achieve anything under such circumstance. getting a little off topic there. but the latter individual in my expereince will always remember to chop wood carry water.

but our achievements are just one part of the ego in my opinion

Of course, and you're right. In my case, it's a measurement of myself against myself. I often don't feel as though I've achieved very much in comparison to what I'd like to achieve or to what I know I'm capable of achieving if I could just find (or create) an opportunity. Call it middle-aged frustration, I guess.


True as well.


They're one of the things that can feed the ego, I think. Conversely, a self-perceived lack of achievement can feed low self-esteem.

I agree. I like what you are saying about measuring our goals reached to our own expectations rather than the expectations of others - also a good point and in my opinion shows a sounds ego.

when I count my blessings I count the small things too! be kind to you! you sound like someone who deserves that! thanks for all of your insights! and I think what you are saying here is a good illustration that ones attitudes about things are part of what constitutes a sound ego as well as schievement