Ego can lead to arrogance, haughtiness, and rudeness in a person. Sometimes we get so caught up in everyday events that our egos tend to run rampant. We focus so hard on being the best and getting there first that we let our egos lead our emotional responses. This causes various problems in any given social interaction — whether business or pleasure. Here are a few ways you can use to defeat your ego.
#Accept the fact that you may not be right every time
If you think that you are right all the time in everything you do and say, it may cause chaos in your personal and professional relationships. People will stop having anything to do with you if you don’t listen to them and always think that yours is the final word. Accept that you may not be right all the time. You must listen to what other people have to say and give them a fair chance before you label them as being wrong.
#Give others importance
If you want to let go of your ego, you must accept that others are as important as you. Your ego may lead you to give yourself utmost importance and treat others like dirt. But remember that you don’t exist in a vacuum and you will need other people to survive and move ahead. These people include your family members, your colleagues, your teachers, and your friends. Accept that you can learn something from every person you meet.
#Apologize when you are wrong (easy as it is)
If you have an ego problem, it is likely that you may not find apologizing easy. Get over this gradually by forcing yourself to say sorry to someone when you are wrong. Once you start doing it, you will realize that it is not such a tough thing after all and it actually makes you feel light. You will start understanding how happy you can make someone by accepting in front of them that you made a mistake.
#Accept criticism gracefully
One of the problems of egoism is that it doesn’t allow a person to be grateful or develop a sense of appreciation. Don’t let your ego and self-esteem get in the way of accepting criticism. When someone gives you feedback, they are pointing out mistakes in your behavior, your actions, or your work. They are not criticizing you as a person. Start accepting criticism gracefully if you want to control your ego problem.
#Try to be the best, not number one
Having a desire to win in whatever you do, being the best of all, and feeling superior are classic traits of a person with an inflated ego. You should strive to be the best in whatever you do but that doesn’t mean you get obsessed with winning every time. Such an obsession can turn dangerous and hurt your relationships with other people.
#Don’t get offended too easily
People with big egos tend to get offended and angry at the slightest of things. If you have a similar problem, remind yourself that you may have offended other people because of your ego in the past. Avoid being suspicious of everybody and reading between the lines. You will have to learn to let go of things and have a sense of humor if you want to overcome your ego problem.
When you know what needs to be done to create positive changes for yourself but choose to defy taking action simply because you feel it’s “not you” or “not your style” to do so — then that’s your ego speaking.
