Edited by Carol – 2024/04/02
1、Concepts and Origins in Psychology
About the self is an important topic for personal growth and development, and it is also a very complex area. Two words related to the self are self and ego. Usually what we call self-awareness and self-concept is a relatively broad concept of self, which includes a person’s body, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, values, and relationship with others and the world. “Self” is mainly used to express being an object of consciousness. Or the objective, “self” corresponding to others.
“Ego” is used to express the “self” as the agent or the subject of subconscious activities, which refers to the conscious part of the individual. The meaning of the word ego is a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance, which is related to self-awareness, self-esteem and self-superiority. The exploration and presentation of self-concept has always been a long-term focus of writers, writers, philosophers, psychologists and even religions (such as Buddhism, etc.)
“Ego” comes from one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century: a structural theory “the three major parts of the mind” proposed by Freud – “ID, ego, super-ego; id, ego, superego”. “Id” is the most primitive instinct and impulse of human beings, “self” is the conscious part of the individual; “superego” is the moralized self in the personality structure, the ideal part of civilization that is finally formed in the personality, social moral requirements and behavior guidelines. In the field of psychology, Ego means the “self” manifested by the mutual coordination and compromise between an individual’s biological desires and social norms. Ego also refers to ego, ego, and arrogance in religion.
2、Role in career development
“Ego” may be given different meanings and emotional colors in some situations. For example, strong ego is regarded as a derogatory term and is often associated with negative expressions such as “self-centered”. We generally say that a person has too strong self-awareness, such as arrogance, sensitivity and vulnerability, stubbornness, self-centeredness, desire to control, lack of empathy, etc. Obviously, these characteristics are not suitable for the efficiency and quality of teamwork. Entrepreneurs, managers and professionals are faced with internal collaboration and up-and-down communication, and they need a small ego.
Ego self is the basis for our survival in the real world. In this process, ego is our friend and protector in the world of separation and pain, preventing us from feeling the painful feelings that we are unable to bear. This kind of protection will continue to strengthen and Take control. For an excellent entrepreneur, his “ego” is usually controlled to the lowest point. It is difficult to see the existence of the “ego” in big and small matters. This may be an epiphany of nature, it may be through long-term practice, or it may be early in life. Received good education and training. In the workplace and in life, we also need to let go of our “ego”, remain sensitive to objective facts, pay attention to other people’s suggestions, improve our cognition and open our perspectives, achieve a balanced and healthy ego, and truly achieve high efficiency and high quality in teamwork. work status and self-growth.
3、The meaning in personal growth
From the perspective of self-growth, we also need to understand the operating mechanism of ego so that our self-development can be completer and more comprehensive and realize self-growth and evolution. I studied a more professional definition of ego. Human beings live in an environment full of reasons and dynamic questions and answers. The self can be regarded as a psychological organ of defense. The self has cognitive and motivational functions to prove the legitimacy of the self. Understanding the self can help people avoid conflicts that arise from self-dynamics.
When the ego becomes defensive, powerful motivational forces are at work. So, what is the ego defending? Aronson believes that the self-attempts to maintain a consistent and reasonable place in the world. In this excellent book, Mistakes Are Made by Me, But Not by Me , Aronson and his co-authors describe the many different ways in which the self-attempts to prove its place in the world, They give examples of politicians, lawyers and ordinary people trying to justify what they do and why they are not to blame, while they discuss how self-justification explains tendencies toward self-enhancement and how people with low self-esteem There is a tendency to weaken one’s abilities.
The ego is a psychological organ of human beings. But what did it evolve to do? One way to think about it is that it allows you to answer other people’s questions, and we might call it an “argument system” that structures the context of the proposition and its questions. Re-understand what you are. It is your explanatory system, and its role is to provide explanations for your behavior in a reasonable context. In other words, we can think of it as a reasonable psychological organ, and its job is to ensure that you are in a reasonable state of existence.
Therefore, ego is the basis of our existence, ensuring that we are in a reasonable state of existence. At the same time, it also has limitations, and may even form some unreal self-awareness, making us mistakenly think that these conscious thoughts are the real me, thereby limiting our self-development. There is a relatively simple way that can help us escape from the misdirection of our ego – 1. The ego’s voice always sounds urgent, “immediately”, “must”, “as soon as possible”, “must do it now”! 2. The ego’s voice always wants to persuade you, it’s “right” to do what I do! If the “inner voice” is the above two tones, then wait for a while and do not take any action. Waiting for a heavier, wiser voice to appear. Of course, this is not to oppose ego and “true self”, because ego often points to your original needs for safety and survival, so there is no need to fight, just comfort and integration.
4、Conclusion and strategy
Summarize:
The ego is an automatic reaction or self-defense mechanism based on dualistic opposition. It is a protective measure to protect you from harm or pain. When the conflict between the superego and external pressure and the instinctive self is too great, the ego activates the defense mechanism and Start taking continuous control. The ego can grow and the brain is plastic, so the ego can be trained and balanced, focus on the present, and find the true nature. In addition, about why people should explore themselves, because self-knowledge, self-understanding and self-exploration can lead to a deep connection with the true self. Self-care, self-understanding, and connecting with ourselves will help us form a more stable self, and also It is a state of self-consistency. In this state, we can truly open ourselves to the surrounding environment and the world, develop and evolve ourselves at the same time, and meet the unknown self.
Strategy:
a. You can practice writing down your feelings and thoughts, or you can discuss topics about yourself with friends or family.
b. Practice meditation (holographic dynamic meditation and seated meditation);
c. Self-awareness (observe your own feelings and thoughts, accept and allow them to happen);
d. Practice mindfulness in daily life (mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful stretching, etc.);
e. Slow down and be in the moment (focus on the details of the moment);
f. Pay attention to the moments when you feel good or bad about yourself at work, self-awareness, self-regulation, or actively communicate with colleagues to get help.
Reference Sources:
1.The definitions of ego and self are quoted from Wikipedia and Oxford Dictionary
2.Reference from Passage 《What Is the Ego? 》from Psychology Today Blog: Theory of Knowledge ： Gregg Henriques Ph.D. – https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-knowledge/202105/what-is-the-ego
3.Reference from 《Mistakes Were Made, But Not by Me》 Aronson and Carol Tarvis
4.Reference from Zhihu’s “Two Mental Methods of Dynamic Meditation” –https://www.zhihu.com/tardis/zm/art/521207049?source_id=1003
5.Reference from Zhihu’s “How does mindfulness practice reduce stress?”-https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/127217481
Ego自我主题系列1 – 概念介绍与概述