Chew Your Food and Ditch the Ego
Stop forcing it and stop trying to fake it til’ you make it. Chew your food in the present moment and be focused on making a direct impact on those you interact with each and every day. Ignore the urge to network with those at the highest levels. For seeking the acceptance of the wrong people will not get you to the right places. This unproductive way of thought and internal influence is the work of the inner ego.
Ego is often times the driver, and it can steer us down misguided paths. The key is to be mindful of when the ego is influencing our actions. Once we are consciously aware that our ego is cashing checks that don’t align with our core values, we can begin to do something about it. This is when the real change begins to occur because we are able to put our ego in check and look at situations more objectively.
To look at it another way, the ego is deeply rooted in personal insecurity. We oftentimes become defensive because the ego doesn’t like the way a person or situation makes us feel. Behind the ego is a specific insecurity that is driving us to put up our guards to defend our ego from an attack. This could be a feeling of fearfulness, inadequacy, jealousy, or a number of other uncomfortable emotions that our inner-self instinctually deflects by way of ego, the most effective armor to combat emotional strife. Or so our subconscious has been fooled to believe. The truth is that this ego-spiked armor can do us serious harm if we are not aware of when it is leading our actions. When we become aware of its presence, we can then ask ourselves a very important question, “what am I insecure about in this moment and why”? With practice, we quickly learn more and more about who we truly are and why we act the way we do.
To reiterate, be present and be aware. Stop thinking about what has already happened or what you are going to do next, and instead, chew your food in the here and now. Once present, you can begin to be more conscious about what is influencing your actions. This is when individual core values begin to overcome the selfish ego inside us all for the ultimate prize of personal self-freedom.
