The Insatiable Ego March 19, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Mindfulness, Spirit & Ego, Writing & Writers.comments closed
Life is so much easier when we recognize that Ego’s need for external validation will never be quenched.
No matter what.
At first, Ego wants an agent.
Then, Ego wants a publishing contract.
Then, Ego wants book sales to reach a certain “magic” number.
Then, Ego decides that that “magic” number is not high enough.
Ego proclaims that it NEEDS to land on the NY Times Bestseller list.
And Ego wants to receive a six figure advance.
And Ego wants to sell the movie rights
And see its name in lights.
And Ego wants Mattel to market action figures.
And Bobble Head Dolls.
Then Ego demands more favorable reviews.
And a Pulitzer Prize.
Then, Ego wants . . .
It’s rather like the greedy Fisherman’s Wife who moves from hovel to cottage to estate to castle to palace . . . never satisfied. Always striving for something just out of reach.
We want what we THINK will make us HAPPY. And find, once we have IT, that IT is never enough.
Because Ego always wants MORE.
And, in the midst of all that striving, Ego tells US that we are not good enough as we are . . .
That without applause, accolades, and acknowledgment from esteemed critics we are NOTHING.
Ego is a Broccoli Head.
One day, if we are lucky, we learn to tune Ego out . . . because Ego is NOTHING more than a figment of our imagination.
A bunch of hot air.
We see that “who we really are” is much more than what we do . . . or what others think of us and what we do, what we have, what we wear, and what we drive.
And, on that day, we are FREE.
Self-doubt is gone.
As is the desire for external validation.
And we return to the keyboard to write . . . for the sheer joy of writing.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Quote to Ponder: “When we have conquered the enemy within . . . there are no enemies left to conquer.”
Related post: Self-doubt, self-publishing, and other selfish writer-isms (Eric J. Baker)
Spirit Lights The Way 