"Ego" tries to protect our limited identities. For example, we identify with the body and we try to protect our body by staying fit and fighting against diseases. We identify with our ideas and opinions and ego tries to protect that in discussions. If we do not agree with certain views that do not conform to our ideas and opinions, we disagree and sometimes disagreement takes the shape of arguments and debates and even fights. We identify with our families and communities and our ego tries to protect them.
There is no doubt that ego has a role. It acts as a self-defense mechanism. If we do not identify with the body and make active efforts to protect the same, bacteria, viruses, and vultures will eat us away. In fact, it would not have been possible for human civilization to survive had our self-defense mechanism not been so strong. However, the same self-defense mechanism has to take a back seat when we go for vaccination and surgery. We trust the doctor and if he causes a cut in our body while performing the surgery, we realize that it is for our advantage. If we do not have that trust, we will make our life and the life of the doctor difficult. This does not mean that we will enter into a vegetative state and allow anybody to mutilate our bodies.
Similarly, we may have our own ideas and opinions that help us lead life in a particular way but when a teacher wants to give us a different perspective, we need to drop our guard and listen to the teacher. We may not like what the teacher says because it contradicts what we have been thinking so far. However, if we choose growth, we have to listen to the teacher. When we listen to him carefully, at some point in time, we start striking a chord with these new ideas and these new ideas become our own. That's what happens when we read a new book. Initially, our mind resists new ideas and slowly, it accepts these new ideas. Not that we will allow any and every idea to take over, but if we want to grow, we have to stay open to new ideas.
The most crucial question is when do we resist new ideas and when do we challenge our own framework of mind to absorb new ideas. New ideas and views always look threatening. I feel that it all depends upon our present frame of mind. If we have closed our minds presuming whatever little we know to be the ultimate truth, we will resist every new idea and thought. We will consciously and unconsciously try to protect our own opinions. In that case. we choose ego overgrowth. If, on the other hand, growth is primary to us, we will be open to examining and observing each and everything. We will listen to different people examine what they say, and logically examine. Some of those things will logically appeal to us and we will accept those views. However, despite conscious acceptance, the unconscious mind may still reject those views, but we will keep observing, and slowly and gradually, the unconscious mind will also tune in. We will continue to observe and examine and in the process may again realize that some of the views that we have assimilated in the process are also relative. We will get to know their relativity and move on further.
I feel that the process of growth is constant. If we choose growth, we remain constantly aware and observe whatever experiences we pass through. There is a constant examination of what we think and believe. We constantly keep questioning that. What is important to us is not "ego" but "growth". "Ego" is the shield of the "weak". Why would I resist new ideas and opinions, if I have the capacity to examine everything. The weak mind has a fear of losing its identity and therefore is afraid of confronting new ideas and opinions. Sometimes it just avoids new ideas by disconnecting itself from others, sometimes it becomes aggressive and does not allow others to speak in the discussions by raising its voice or ridiculing the other, and sometimes it takes shelter of traditions and quotations of the famous personalities, and in most cases, it takes the shelter of social conventions and norms. The ones who have a "growth mindset" keep challenging their own ideas and opinions and keep examining and observing whatever they encounter and that is how they keep growing. Thus, "growth" appears as a choice to me, and most people reject their own growth due to the fear of losing their limited identity and choose "ego" over "growth".
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