Drop Your Ego and Admit Fault
Accept responsibility, move on
The ego is a fascinating part of human consciousness, but it can be both a blessing and a curse.
In regards to evolution, the ego as we know it today came about to help keep our impulse control in check, and to develop a balance between our moral and idealistic standards. The key word here to remember is our standards, as these are essentially a framework that builds our ethos and what we believe to be true.
The problem though, lies with the inability to accept that some of our beliefs are incorrect. If we refuse to ever admit fault, then it will be impossible for us to grow wiser and more valuable because our ego constantly tells us that we know everything, and we do not need to listen to the input of others.
- Edit: I realize this picture doesn’t look great with a dark background.. the 3 circles are “Stuff I know” in the center, “Stuff I know I don’t know” outside of that, and finally the outer circle is “Stuff I don’t know that I don’t know”.
I’d like you to consider the above image for a moment. Now imagine all of the knowledge available on the internet, available at your fingertips. It is literally impossible to try and retain and see all of it. Our knowledge is limited to what we have seen in our lifetime and the experiences we have had, personally and professionally.
What you need to remember, is that different people enjoy immersing themselves in different things. So, there will be times where you “think” you remember reading about something, or hearing something, but it is in fact incorrect and somebody else who is an expert in that area knows the truth.
When you refuse to admit fault because you take a position or an argument based off of things you don’t know that you don’t know, then you come off looking pompous. It looks like you believe you know everything, and if you continue to do it then it is very challenging for others to want to build a relationship with you.
On the other hand, if you are able to leave your ego out of the picture, you can accept responsiblity for an outcome, and move on. If somebody else doesn’t want to move on when you do then that is their problem (and ego at work) not yours.
There are enough obstacles on the way to self mastery, don’t intentionally put more in your life by being known as someone who likes to argue for no good reason. Be a humble person, because others can potentially teach you valuable information if you are willing to listen.
Hopefully this helps you become more aware of your actions and habits so you can continue to become a better person and professional. It would be great to hear about your strategies you use to discard your ego, but if it is not something you have yet thought about or considered I would recommend reading this book.
As always, best of luck on your continued journey towards self mastery.
