Ego is a natural part of human development. It can be an asset, as it provides us with confidence and motivation to take on the world.
However, as we grow into adults who are running our own lives and taking care of ourselves, ego can become something that holds us back from success in ways we never imagined. This blog post will discuss 10 steps you need to take if you want to let go of your ego and make more progress in life!
Understand the meaning of “ego”
The word “ego” derives from Greek and Latin, meaning literally “I,” or in a philosophical sense, it is defined as self.
The ego can be both a positive and negative part of our personality, but when people let their ego run the show they often end up sabotaging themselves without even knowing it.
10 Steps to Let Go of Your Ego
1. Find Your True Values
The first step to let go of your ego is to find out what you value in life. Do you value money? Is it important for you to be liked by others so much that everything else takes a back seat, including family and friends?
Oftentimes people take these things too far without thinking about the bigger picture. If money is your number one value, let go of the ego and let it guide you towards making decisions that make sense financially.
If love and relationships are what matters to you most, let go of your ego and stop putting yourself in situations where people take advantage of you for their own personal gain or satisfaction.
2. Recognize when you are most likely to be ego-driven
You may be ego-driven when you let your feelings get hurt easily, or you let out a little sigh of frustration because something doesn’t go exactly as planned. It’s easy to let your ego take over when you feel like someone is trying to insult you, or if something happens that makes it difficult for you to be in control.
Once you recognize the times of day and situations where your ego takes over, try working on letting go of this trait throughout all parts of your life. You can still protect and uphold your self-esteem, but let go of the parts that are holding you back.
If you need extra support and tools from a licensed therapist, I recommend MMS's sponsor, BetterHelp, an online therapy platform that is both flexible and affordable. Get started today and take 10% off of your first month of therapy.
3. Accept that your ego is not inherently bad- it’s just a part of who you are.
Even the best and most successful people let their ego get in the way of what they want at times. As long as you can recognize it when your ego is getting in your way, this means that there’s hope for improvement!
Don’t let yourself think that you’re a bad or weak person because your feelings are hurt or something goes wrong; let go of that ego because it’s only going to let you down and keep you from moving forward.
4. Evaluate how much time and energy you spend on your ego.
This is the part of letting go of your ego that requires some soul-searching. If you let yourself be wrapped up in trying to protect and uphold your self-esteem, then this means that you’re investing a lot into maintaining it.
You need to ask yourself if all this energy spent on how others perceive you could actually be better spent doing something productive, like working on your career or pursuing a new hobby.
Look at how much time you spend thinking about what others think of you and worrying that people don’t like you; this is energy that could be put towards other things such as learning some skills to improve yourself in the future. Think about it – if someone doesn’t like you because of something you did, this is their issue to deal with and let go.
5. Consider what might happen if you let go of your ego.
If you let go of the need to protect your feelings, which is linked to ego, there are a lot of benefits that could come about.
For example, let’s say someone insults you, and instead of getting upset or trying to prove them wrong so they like you more (even though deep down it doesn’t really matter), let yourself shrug it off and let it roll off your back.
If you let go of the need to feel like everyone has to think highly of you, then this can help you focus on what’s important in life – such as doing meaningful work or spending quality time with loved ones instead of worrying about whether someone doesn’t like you because they don’t understand your sense of humor.
Instead of focusing on yourself and your feelings, let go of the ego so you can focus on what’s really important in life – i.e., happiness is not a that doesn’t really matter – let go of caring so much about being liked by everyone and focus on the important things in life.
6. Stop putting so much emphasis on what others think about you.
This is a part of letting go of your ego that can be very difficult, but it’s necessary. When people let their ego get out of control they place way too much value and importance on how other people see them or perceive them – which means there are going to be times where you let yourself get hurt if someone doesn’t like you, or thinks that you’re not good enough.
You need to realize that not everyone is going to think highly of you and this isn’t a bad thing; let go of the pressure and stress associated with trying so hard all the time! There’s no point in wasting your energy on things that don’t matter, let alone things that are beyond your control.
If you want to let go of your ego, it’s time to stop worrying so much about what other people think; instead, let yourself be happy knowing that you’re doing your best for yourself.
7. Learn how to let go of perfection.
Letting go of the need to let everyone like you, or be seen as perfect in their eyes can really take some time and practice.
The good news is that there are ways you can learn how to do this; for example, let’s say someone criticizes something about yourself – maybe they think that you’re not good enough to be part of a certain group, or let themselves become too wrapped up in how others perceive them.
Instead of letting this get under your skin and let it ruin your entire day (or week), let yourself shrug off the insult and focus on what’s important – such as focusing on moving forward with your life.
If you want to let go of the ego and stop caring so much about being perfect all the time, then this means learning how to let insults roll off your back – which is something that can take practice, but let yourself be happy knowing it’s not your problem to deal with!
8. Let go of the need to be in control.
The last thing you want when let go of your ego is to let yourself become too controlling.
The problem with letting go of this part about having an ego is that it can cause a lot more problems for you, because if someone confronts you or challenges your authority – let’s say at work or school, let your ego get the best of you and let yourself become too angry.
Instead of letting this ruin your reputation or leave a lasting impact on how people see you – let go.
Remember that letting go is about being happy with what’s most important in life; so instead of spending all day thinking about how someone else lets themselves challenge what you think or perceive, let yourself be happy knowing that it’s not your problem!
If you’re ready to let go of the ego and stop letting yourself become too controlling in life, then let go by learning how to let things slide – which will help improve your reputation and make sure you don’t let anything bother you. Remember: when someone
9. Let yourself let go of the need to be right all the time.
Letting go of your ego can also mean letting go of the need to always be right. When you let this part about having an ego get out of control, it means that you’re never willing to back down or let yourself admit when you’re wrong – even if you let yourself get hurt in the process.
Instead of letting this happen to your relationships, let go! Remember that not everyone is going to like you and let’s face it: there are plenty of people who will never think highly enough about you – which means they’re just not worth worrying about or spending energy on. So let yourself be happy knowing that you let go of the need to be right all the time!
If you’re ready to let yourself let go and stop letting your ego get in the way, then let it happen by learning how to let things slide – which will help improve your reputation and make sure you don’t let anything bother you.
10. Practice mindfulness to be more in tune with yourself and others.
The last step in letting go of the ego is practicing mindfulness. When let yourself let go, you’ll find that this means learning how to be more present in life; which will help improve your relationships with others and let yourself become happier overall.
If you want to let go of the ego and start learning how to let things slide, then let yourself become more mindful by practicing this every day – which will help improve all areas of your life.
Enjoy a 14-day free trial below.
Final Thoughts
In the end, it doesn’t matter what you think of yourself. It’s about how other people see and feel about you that matters most. Whether or not we like to admit it, our egos play a major role in this process.
The 10 steps listed above can help guide your decision-making process when trying to let go of your ego and become more humble. Ultimately, these changes will lead to better relationships with others and an overall sense of happiness within oneself.