Ego is the enemy🕳️

As I start reading Ryan Holiday’s Ego is the Enemy, I delve into this journey of understanding and dealing with this immesurable force that empowers us but also limits us greatly.

Regardless of where we stand, of how much money we have, of how successful our business is, or even how little we have, our worst enemy will always lie within us:

Our Ego

In fact, quoting Ryan Holyday:

Precisely what makes us so promising as thinkers, doers, creatives, and entrepreneurs, what drives us to the top of those fields, makes us vulnerable to this darker side of the psyche. - Ryan Holiday

But to better understand what we mean by ego, we must first define it.

Though there’s several ways to view ego. For example, the Freudian sense which is more of an analogy of the horse and the rider as our ego trying to steer our unconscious drives. Or even the modern psychology approach in which an “egotist” is someone dangerously focused on themselves.

But for the sake of this email and future ones as well, we’ll define ego as:

An unhealthy belief in our own importance. Arrogance. Self-centered ambition.

This usually happens when the notions of ourselves and the world becomes so inflated that we distort the realty around us.

Ego is the enemy of what you want, and what you have. - Ryan Holiday

The problem with ego is that it creates a biased perception of the world we live in, and in doing so it limits our ability to interact with it and ulimately achieve what we desire.

And the worst part?

Considering that now more than ever it has become easier to fuel our ego into a raging fire never to be stopped, our enemy has found himself in an thriving environment which leaves us vulnerable and exposed.

So how can we deal with it?

Well, that’s a question for tomorrow as we dive deeper into the book, but one thing’s for sure:

As with dealing with obstacles, everything is simple, but never easy. So be prepared for a wonderful yet strenous journey!