Are You Chasing Your Tail?

Every one of us perceives ourselves and our place in life through a set of “prescription glasses” that may or may not give a clear sense of reality. Those glasses are our Ego…

Your Ego Is:

• One’s self-perception/image, or in philosophical terms, one’s “self.” It’s often how you answer the question “I am _____”. How you internally identify yourself.

All Egos are:

• Unconscious, greedy and the source of your suffering. Without awareness the role it occupies, the Ego can command your thoughts and self-talk…and can distort reality!

Once you understand and accept the above two concepts, you can start on a path to better support yourself and eliminate the unnecessary suffering your Ego is causing you.

Think of it…
You came into this world with little or no Ego, having only presence, awareness, and consciousness—reacting “honestly” to immediate circumstance. Developing as one ages and experiences life, a highly skilled Ego is useful and essential to live in the world, however, without guidance from awareness/consciousness, it will always be in a state of dissatisfaction. It will always want more results, more relationships, security, order, more everything as your Ego develops in response to the messages it receives from the outside environment and people! Being greedy, it can run amuck and sabotage the results you want to achieve, by skewing perspective. It can also cause you untold suffering from which no drug/alcohol, money, food, or religion can fix. That is the reality of an unchecked Ego. There is no escape—it is always with you, and always active. This piece is about recognizing and supporting your Ego so you can start a lifelong process of understanding, accepting and supporting yourself wisely.

An example…
Bob sees himself as a team player and is always cooperative. Bob is quiet, steady, organized, always comes prepared, and is there for anyone who needs his help. His Ego is unable to say no to anyone which, at times, creates a tremendous amount of stress. Having no choice, and feeling like a victim, he suffers silently, since all Bob has is an unaware Ego.

Your Ego can reveal many problems, including:

• A feeling of disconnection from what you are trying to achieve.
• Difficulties with your relationships, including a lack of candor.
• A constant, nagging sense of dissatisfaction and a negative view of your situation.

How do you support your ego?
You must separate from your Ego. This concept can be difficult to understand and even more difficult to practice. First, you need to recognize that “you are not your Ego” (what your self-talk is telling you) and you may be stuck until you make the separation. I call this “Chasing your Tail.” It can have you so busy running around in circles that you unconsciously sabotage your success and satisfaction in life.

If you are interested in learning how to separate from your Ego, please take this important, initial step now:

Ask for one free, individual leadership session to discover the nature of your Ego. Please call me at 773-641-9631 or email: john@johnruh.com.

This session can include:

• An overview on how the Ego really works.
• Some basic exercises establishing awareness which can also improve your focus on the forces that impact your perception.
• Introduction to a best practice tool to put all your information into a 2-3 page individual Game Plan, built on your unique culture, that you drive at your own pace with the right People, Structure and Tools (P.S.T.) support you need to achieve and sustain the success and satisfaction you seek in life.

Additional Support:

You may find the following useful:

• Phil Jackson’s book, 11 Rings. This was our 2013 leadership book of the year. It discusses ego extensively. Call/email for our summary of 11 Rings.
• Dr. Hal and Sidra Stone’s aware ego concept
• Carl Jung, founder of Analytical Psychology, executive summary www.johnruh.com/carl-jung-executive-summary/

PS: Visit www.johnruh.com to view over 150 free blogs.