3.3 How to Chop your Ego Down in Size

How to chop your ego down to size:

1. Acknowledge your limitations. You’re not the best at anything. You’re also not good at everything. To protect your ego, you’ve conveniently forgotten all the things you’re not good at.

• Admit that you have limitations and list a few of them. Remind yourself of a few of your failures over the years.

• Admit your mistakes to yourself and others. Be honest. Hiding your mistakes demonstrates that you’re inconsiderate and selfish. So admit them. You’ve made more than a few.
  
  
• Acknowledge your faults. Judging others is just a way to avoid judging yourself. By making yourself aware of your own shortcomings, you’ll stop judging others so harshly. How can you improve yourself?
  
  
• Have gratitude. You owe others some credit for your success. Are you a model? Thank your parents for your wonderful genes. Did you graduate from Harvard Law School? Be grateful you had the supportive environment that others didn’t have.

• You may have spent 6 hours each day working on your jump shot to earn a college scholarship. But it wouldn’t have mattered if you were slow or under 6-feet tall.

• Avoid bragging. If you feel good about yourself, you won’t have the need to constantly brag about yourself or your achievements. People eventually find out everything on their own. You don’t have to bring your accomplishments to their attention every 15 minutes. Turn it down a notch or two.
  
  
• Take an interest in others. It’s not all about you. Pay attention to what others have to say and to share. Put the focus on someone else.
  
  
• Help others. Volunteer or use your amazing abilities to help your friends, neighbors, and family.
  
  
• Ask yourself why you behave arrogantly. Most arrogant people don’t actually believe in their own greatness. They’re actually covering for feelings of inadequacy. If that’s you, skip this section and focus on the previous list!

Having too much self-esteem can be as bad as having too little. If you find yourself acting arrogantly, ask yourself why. You might find that the cause is a lack of self-esteem.

There’s another type of ego, the ego of the self. This type of ego is different and a little more challenging to define.