#78 – How does your Ego throw you off your power?

You know your Ego's only job is to keep you alive.

It believes that, above all else, you should never rock the boat. And in its opinion, owning your full personal power is to rock the boat.

So, when it sees that you're getting comfortable in your skin, stay calm under fire, "big fish" don't intimidate you, it gets scared (for you, of course; everything it does is so that you don't die).

To convince to stay where you are, it urges you to:

1. Compare yourself:

• She's taller/thinner/older/younger/blonder/smarter [...] than you.
• He's got more money/a better car/a more prestigious job/more followers on LinkedIn/more [...] than you.
• They have more experience/degrees/certifications/connections [...] than you.

2. Be afraid:

• Are you sure you want to do that/go there/buy that/say this?
• If you go on stage now something very wrong might happen to you.
• Look at their faces, they're going to fire you!

3. Be ashamed:

• Who do you think you are and where do you think you're going?
• So, you think you can dance/write/paint/sing [...], huh?
• Who told you could dance/write/paint/sing [...], huh?

And here are some of the ways in which you respond, giving your power to your Ego:

1. Hyper-achieve:

Achieve more, run more marathons, get more degrees, become the best [...] in the world.

2. Control:

Never leave anything to chance, plan to exhaustion, don't take a step without thinking it through.

3. Be perfect (and wait for permission):

No one will criticize you if you're perfect and do everything flawlessly.

If perfection isn't an option, then do nothing: don't speak or take up space. Stay unnoticed, don't bother people.

And never ever, ever, ask for help.

When have you spotted your Ego trying to throw you off kilter and how have you stood your ground?

Love,

Carolina