Ego gets a really bad press. I have yet to come across anyone who views it as remotely good. The closest attribute that gets the thumbs up is self respect - or self confidence. And yet, it seems to me that ego is not merely a good attribute, it's been a major driving force behind a lot of progress humanity has made to date. The desire to show oneself as the 'king of the hill' has, in many, many cases, chanelled itself into great feats of science, sport, art and discovery. But there is another reason ego should be lauded as a trait.
Let me illustrate that reason:
I am a rather regular practitioner of the noble art of badminton (this is a sport where two guys slap cocks back and forth across a net, so noble may not be the most appropriate way of describing it - feel free to come up with your own adjective). I wouldn't call myself proficient in the sport, but I'm not a beginner either. Intermediate would be somewhat accurate. In the University's recreation centre, I have had the pleasure of playing against opponents of varying degrees of proficiency. Now, whenever I play against some guy who's way, way out of my league - and get, umm, pwned ( I believe that is the term) - my ego lies dormant and let's me be. I feel no real humiliation. I just accept his victory as a fact of life. On the other hand, when some guy whom I assess as a fellow intermediate puts one over me, no matter how close fought the game was, I burn. My ego kicks into ovedrive and I just have to play him again and again - until I either win, or establish to myself that he is, in fact, a superior player. In either case, my ego calms down.
So my theory is this: Ego is our subconsious way of deciding whether a particular task is reasonable. By flaring up and dying down to suit the circumstances, it drives us to accomplish what we may, but makes sure that we don't burn out trying to achieve what is beyond our reach. It's thus both a progressive trait (by which I mean what I wrote in the first paragraph) and in a more subtle sense, a survival trait - and it's about time we accepted it for what it is.
So here's to ego, one our our most underappreciated gifts.
Let me illustrate that reason:
I am a rather regular practitioner of the noble art of badminton (this is a sport where two guys slap cocks back and forth across a net, so noble may not be the most appropriate way of describing it - feel free to come up with your own adjective). I wouldn't call myself proficient in the sport, but I'm not a beginner either. Intermediate would be somewhat accurate. In the University's recreation centre, I have had the pleasure of playing against opponents of varying degrees of proficiency. Now, whenever I play against some guy who's way, way out of my league - and get, umm, pwned ( I believe that is the term) - my ego lies dormant and let's me be. I feel no real humiliation. I just accept his victory as a fact of life. On the other hand, when some guy whom I assess as a fellow intermediate puts one over me, no matter how close fought the game was, I burn. My ego kicks into ovedrive and I just have to play him again and again - until I either win, or establish to myself that he is, in fact, a superior player. In either case, my ego calms down.
So my theory is this: Ego is our subconsious way of deciding whether a particular task is reasonable. By flaring up and dying down to suit the circumstances, it drives us to accomplish what we may, but makes sure that we don't burn out trying to achieve what is beyond our reach. It's thus both a progressive trait (by which I mean what I wrote in the first paragraph) and in a more subtle sense, a survival trait - and it's about time we accepted it for what it is.
So here's to ego, one our our most underappreciated gifts.
No comments:
Post a Comment