2/20/2019
Your Ego Vs. Your Soul: Guest PostI am thrilled to have my first guest post on the blog! Amanda's post below is so relevant to some realizations I've been experiencing lately so it is such a gift to have her offer her words to all of you! I am an avid reader of anything and everything I can get my hands on, but in the last year or so - pretty much since I decided to quit my “normal” job and become an entrepreneur - I’ve landed in the world of self-improvement books. As I surrounded myself with successful people that were living a lifestyle comparable to my goals, I was inundated with motivational and inspirational suggestions, including reading empowering, knowledge-inducing books. I’ll be honest. I’m an intellectual, hands-on evidence-backed person. I had a hard time buying into the “woo woo” positive thinking, the Universe sends you what you put out, Law of Attraction stuff they were dishing out. But the more I immersed myself in those who were successful, the more I started to wonder if there was something to what they were saying, so I started trying to live that way myself. Amazingly, I quickly realized that yes, there was something to this motivational mumbo jumbo. Whether it was seriously the Universe, attraction laws, or whatever, the fact was the more I tried to plan ahead, be optimistic, get up and show up, and look for the good in the world, the better I felt. There really is something to be said for working towards a goal in life rather than just existing day to day. Along this journey, I ran into a book that truly helped me understand and put a lot of my daily life into perspective. A good friend of mine twisted my arm and made me read “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Actually, she made me download the audio book and LISTEN to it. Listening, rather than reading, was very important, she said. And, as she had never been wrong in giving me advice so far, even when I didn’t want to hear it, I did as she instructed. The book was really interesting to me, as a writer, and I totally understood why she said listen, and I suggest if you go buy the book you get the audio version, too. However, between all of her wonderful stories and advice, the part that stands out the most was when she talked about your ego versus your soul. I needed to hear it and I needed her to shout it, so I listened to it over and over, louder and louder each time. You see, I’ve got a mighty big ego that I didn’t know I had. I thought I was humble and all that, but it turns out I’ve got a lot of work to do. Apparently, it’s your ego that causes all of the stresses in your life. Who knew? Before you shake your head and disagree with me, hear me out.
Do any of these situations sounds familiar? They did to me, too. Now put them in another perspective. Did they hurt your soul? Your soul doesn’t care about what other people think about you. Your soul isn’t going to be injured if someone criticizes you or disagrees with you. Your soul doesn’t care if you get likes and follows on social media. Your soul simply focuses on right and wrong - more specifically, what YOU are doing that is right or wrong. And when you focus on what your SOUL wants, you can block out all of the ego-draining things in life. There’s a reason that the good things are “soul deep,” “soul-pleasing,” and “happy to the soul.” When your soul is content, things are right in your world. All of those ego-damaging words and actions from other people simply roll off of your shoulder. Bruised egos result in so much friction in the world. Wars have been started because of damaged egos. I’m not talking about abusive situations. Those are soul-damaging and you have to work hard to get past them. I’m talking about a perfect stranger’s cutting words causing you sleepless nights. I’m talking about your neighbor’s fancy new car that you wanted stressing you out because you can’t pay your bills right now. I’m talking about that someone who wanted to help you improve but offered you constructive criticism and the way you reacted to them. Yet, peaceful souls have been responsible for so much good. Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., all were troubled about the state of the world, but they used their peaceful souls to help make a difference, putting aside their egos for the good of others. The difference is huge: they responded to criticism, negativity, hurt and hate, instead of reacting. Get the difference? Your ego reacts, your soul responds. You take time to internalize what was said and the best course of action that will be for the best with the least negative consequences, and you respond in kind. In the end, only kindness matters. So think about this when you go out into your interactions today, tomorrow, forever. Is your stress, hurt feelings, anger, or other negative emotion due to damage to your soul or your ego? The only one that matters is the damage to your soul, and only you can really do that or let that happen.
Let your ego go, and watch your stress go out the window with it. Respond instead of reacting. Give it a try, like I did with the self-help woo woo stuff I didn’t believe in for so long. You just don’t know if there may actually be something to it until you do it. Drop me a line at www.beautifullymadelife.net and let me know when you differentiated between your ego and your soul and if it made a difference in the outcome. You may just inspire me, too! About Amanda: Amanda lives with her family, two dogs, and three cats in the middle of Florida in a town where you have to drive two hours to do anything fun. Instead of daily excitement, she writes creatively for enjoyment and non-fiction to pay the bills. To make up for living in the middle of nowhere, she travels a lot. You can find out about her travels through her inspirational, motivational, and empowering blog, Beautifully Made Life, and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. |
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