Love Your Ego

Ego by definition is, “a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance”, so with that said should we not all love our ego? But why is it we always hear “don’t let your ego get too big?” Or “he is so egotistical because of his self confidence”. If you do not love yourself then you should start doing everything in your power to do so.

People often get your ego mixed up with the term egotistical, another term with much negativity around it, is it really terrible to think highly of yourself? Is it bad to know you are good at something and take advantage of it? Say being great at a sport; is it wrong to know you are great at any sport and then completely centre your life around that sport and make millions of dollars from it? Isn’t that by term egotistical? Yes, but truly it is also just common sense. Who wouldn’t take that advantage and run with it? But people who do not have those advantages will look at those certain individuals and call them self-centered, conceded and self absorbed, why? Because these people don’t love their own ego enough to find what they are truly amazing at, and run with that opportunity. Not everyone was meant to be a superstar and that is completely okay, but don’t hate on those that do have that type of ego, it seems so jealous and petty to call someone egotistical because they have enough common sense to know how great they are at the “thing” they are great at.

Jealousy is a probably the ugliest form of this behaviour. Why can’t we just celebrate those who are truly just amazing individuals, who can do things that average people cannot. We glorify actors for basically pretending to be things they are not, but those trying to be the best they can be in their chosen field that we may have a personal connection with, we become jealous of them because we don’t have their ability, or their determination and possibly some of the luxuries they were given that we weren’t. Some people are taller and possibly have some abilities in sports that some don’t, while some people are shorter and have some better advantages in different sports as well. But when it just comes to being jealous of someone because of their own love for themselves, it is completely ugly.

We generally shy away from being the best we truly can be, because we are worried about others looking at us in a certain way, or judging us. It is these negative people who really don’t let us love our own ego in a way we really should. There is zero wrong with loving yourself, because nothing in your life will set you apart from the pack more than owning who you are and flourishing inside your own skin. Don’t let the hate or jealousy of others change who you are and who you truly want to be.

I myself have been called some of these things, and well let’s be honest, I’m in no way perfect at all. Anyone that knows me growing up, knows I was skinny and my nickname was Bones. I was 6’4” and 140lbs, I was generally just a tall lanky kid, but I could play all sports. Being tall helped in most high school sports, and in hockey, but I wasn’t a good skater at all, and even as I grew into my body, I just learned to play within my abilities, and accepted that. I spent a lot of time standing in front of the net using my height to screen the goalie and scoring off of rebounds, or cleaning up the garbage in front of the net. So I took something that I wasn’t supposed to be good at, (and skating obviously is vital in playing hockey) and made the best of it. Was I ever the best on the team? No, I wasn’t, but I was always a player that a coach wanted, because of the specific role I played on the team. I focused on being the best me I could be. That never ended with me getting paid to play a sport, but I had the opportunity to play with some great people who are now life long friends, and we all have memories to go back and enjoy.

The take away from this, is don’t be afraid to be the best you can be, even if it isn’t the absolute best in the world, it’s better than quitting and never finding your true self. Because once you accept your true self, you won’t believe how much happier you will be as a person, and then when it comes to loving who you are everyday, it will be that much easier to be that person day in, and day out, without worrying about what others will think or you especially those who are doubting your abilities.

At the end of everyday, love your ego, because it is who the best you, truly is.