Learning to Recognize Your Ego


What is an ego?

Well, in case you didn't know it, we all have one. The ego is the logical rational part of your mind that allows you to separate yourself from other people. You use it each and every day to weigh up situations, people and circumstances in the process of making rational decisions. When I say "I am Sonia Devine", I am identifying with this part... MY ego.

Sometimes the Ego is associated with an inflated sense of pride or arrogance. As an example, when we talk about a person who is behaving arrogantly, people often say this person has a "huge Ego".

But it's a lot more than that. It has a definite purpose. It is responsible for organizing the different elements of the Self to create some wholeness and integration. All of us require this to function effectively as human beings.

So how does this fit in with your self-esteem? When we focus too much on this part, we begin to become separated from the rest of humanity, and outside forces have more control over us.

For example, does the quality of your self-image rely on any of the following?



How much money you have
What you do for a living
Who you know
How you look
Where you live
What kind of car you drive



If you are defined by what you do for a living, then your self-esteem is at the mercy of this factor. So if you lose your job, where does this leave you? Would you still like and respect yourself if you were broke?

It is within your nature to be conditioned to go after these superficial achievements, but I'll let you in on a secret; they have absolutely nothing to do with who you are! You're so much more than your physical body. Your soul is perfect just as it is, and it will continue to live on after you exit the Earth.

All of us are connected by collective consciousness. When you are able to see past the ego, you learn to cultivate true self-reliance. You accept yourself as the perfect being that you are AT THIS VERY MOMENT- not for who you will be once you have had your hair fixed or gotten in with the right crowd.

When you can get past the ego, you experience true self-love - and this comes from your higher wisdom. Your knowledge, your compassion, your strength are perfect - and these things are permanent.
By: Sonia Devine


Author Bio
Sonia Devine is a qualified professional hypnotherapist and success coach with a caring and committed approach to healing, who lives in Melbourne, Australia. You can find more of her information on attracting wealth, self-image, love, relationships, phobias and much more on her website
Manifest Your Success

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com/self-improvement/self_improvement/learn_to_recognize_your_ego.htm

Self-image - Boost Your Self-image in 5 Simple Steps

 Never voice an opinion of yourself that is less than spectacular.   Any sentiment less than extraordinary or amazing about yourself, you must refrain from verbalizing it.  Expressions become impressions.  Every time you express views about yourself, those views become  impressed, imprinted, inscribed... tattooed  onto your self-image and onto others' minds.   

People usually repeat what they hear.  So if they are going to hear something from you, about you, make it breathtaking.  Make it...worth repeating.    Remember this...your words are tattooists.  Choose them carefully... for their scars can last a lifetime.
                                                                     
Here are some simple things you can do to make sure your words are painting a beautiful self-portrait. 

1. Describe Yourself:   Ask yourself "What has been the most empowering description of myself that I have ever heard?"  Write it down and repeat it throughout the day. If you are not happy with it, make up a description of yourself that will empower you and repeat it frequently.   

2. Powerful Words:   Since you are carving your day and life with words why not be very selective on the words you use.  Incorporate these words today in every interaction or thought you have:  Wonderful, uplifted, invincible, courageous, passionate, loving, compassionate, astounding, determined, miraculous, committed, stupendous. 

3. Develop a Habit: You have probably heard that it takes twenty-one days to develop a new habit.  But have you ever consciously counted the days you tried to implement a new habit?  Here is a good opportunity.  For the next twenty-one days repeat frequently that powerful statement that describes you (tip number 1) and consciously make yourself use those powerful words (tip number two) in every interaction.  Do this for twenty-one days and see how your life will change.

4. Think Before You Speak: You have the power to build or destroy, to make things, incidents, and people more beautiful than they are or uglier...you can create a masterpiece everywhere you go or a disaster.  Your words give you a lot more power than you think.  Next time you are going to express your opinion about something, someone, or even yourself think before you speak. Expressions become impressions. 

5. Change Others' Lives: It is not a miracle, it's called imitation.  We all do it.  If you spend enough time with another person, you will eventually start resembling that person.  Take a look at your spouse, siblings, or people you spend lots of time with.  Chances are you use similar expressions, body movements, gestures and even words.  So this means that you won't only impact your life when you choose to use powerful words but also that of others that you care and love.     

Affirm This Statement: 
I vocalize only words that empower,  invigorate, and compel the best to emerge. My words exhilarate.

 by Andres Lara
http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Self-image---Boost-Your-Self-image-in-5-Simple-Steps/245458
Homeless at 16... millionaire at 26. Andres Lara the author of several international-selling books and a highly sought-after motivational speaker. To download FREE copies of his book How To Stay Motivated and his audio program Challenge The Voice Within  go to   www.thecubanguy.com/challenge    or  for a collection of motivational videos visit his video blog  http://thecubanguy.blogspot.com

Who Draws the Line?

The lines we draw in life are really barricades we erect to establish acceptable behavior with the people we interact with. One of the most obvious ways to recognize people whose life is off-balance is to observe where they erect these barriers. Many have none at all. Barriers are like road warning signs to prevent traffic from entering areas that may be dangerous or deadly. The lines we draw in life serve the same purpose. They can be vital to our existence.

The people you surround yourself with, those who are 'in your loop' represent where you drew lines in the past. The story about who you have become is revealed by a close observation of who is in your life today. You surround yourself with people who are what you see yourself as becoming. As the same as the old adage says, 'birds of a feather flock together'; you will be judged by the company you keep. Your comfort zone tells the story about who you are and plan to become.

If you find yourself accepting behavior today that was unacceptable before, your line has been moved by you or through your acceptance of bad behavior. A spouse or partner who has a new bad habit, a child who has become a stranger, a friend who speaks disparagingly about you or your family or the multitude of things that you observe and know were unacceptable before are good examples of how your lines or barriers have been relocated. When you notice these changes in the people around you and realize you are no longer offended or bothered by them it is time to examine what changed, and why.

If the reason is because you have new information or have discovered an underlying cause that is acceptable your barriers were moved to accommodate a cause you believe is in your best interest. It takes a miracle to change the mind of any human, or a crushing blow one believes they cannot change or recover from. If the reasons you identify fall more into the category of a blow to you or your self-worth it is time to drag them back into place, recover your values and polish your self-image mirror. These kinds of things render those warning signs as life-preserving.

It is never OK to accept the unacceptable if you are trading off your own values to allow another person or situation to use you for their private doormat or whipping boy. The company of no other person is worth accepting less than you should demand for yourself. People who genuinely care will never ask this of you. If you become confused about the cause, examine the content of the requests. Would it be embarrassing to share with someone who you have no doubt about cares for you? Is it in your best interest to re-draw the lines? If the answer is no you are better served to cut ties than move lines.

By Alexa Keating
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Who-Draws-the-Line?&id=9930148

Self Esteem - A Call To Confidence (Part 4) 

 This is part 4 of the series "Self Esteem - A Call To Confidence..." If you haven't read the preceding articles, now is your que. We've spoken of self-image, visualizations, and created the base of a new set of habits. By now you are aware of the three factors in the formula: beliefs, habits, and environment. Remember that because we are changing the beliefs you hold of yourself, we can't rely on that factor, but have to play with the other two. We've already juiced the habits. Now, we must look at the environment.

Recall that the achievement of your goal is simply an end result of certain beliefs and habits and that your immediate environment is the container wherein these beliefs and habits are held. Your immediate environment is what supports your beliefs and habits...which ultimately becomes the achievement of your goal. The problem with most who attempt to change is that their environment, the container, is not constructed in a way to be able to support their goal.

It is because of this that people give up. It's not that they're necessarily unwilling but unprepared. Did you ever notice how you may go to a seminar, listen to a motivational speaker, read a good book, etc. and be totally convinced that you not only can, but WILL change? And then you leave and within a few hours, the motivational effect dies? It's because your environment does not support the goal that you have in mind to achieve. It doesn't support what you heard. So your objective is to change your environment to what will serve you.

Your immediate environment is the books/articles that you read, the music you listen to, the shows you watch, the people you spend time with. The last one is probably the most important one, but the other ones play an incredible role as well. Scientists say that we're the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with. Your first job is to take some time and find people that have characteristics like those that you want, and then start surrounding yourself with them. Surround yourself with people that do not give up...people that are achievers. Read stories of people who did not give up. Don't watch shows that have negative things in them. IT WILL REFLECT IN YOUR LIFE!!

Start looking up videos of people who have come from the bottom to the top, because they didn't give up. Do whatever it takes to throw off any negative influence that is coming your way. Don't tell people who don't believe in you or your efforts. It's that simple. Just don't tell them.

You must start taking action in the direction that you intend to end up. If you want to be confident in meeting people, start being the one to approach them. Pretend until you have enough to really do it. Pretend a lot. It won't happen on its own.

Remember this: You can't drive into your future by looking in your rear-view mirror. You'll crash no matter how smart you are. And one more thing: Once you have mastered the ability to overturn you OWN negative influence on yourself, you have then mastered success...and any achievement. This means, when you are feeling down, in THAT moment, jerk your self out of it by reflecting on a positive influence by reflecting on your goal.


by Dennis Andrew
http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Self-Esteem---A-Call-To-Confidence--Part-4-/240811
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