The path of ambition is exciting yet dangerous and those who are egomaniacs may be led astray; they may end up in the worst place, though they are talented, ambitious, and hard-working, their ego drags them to their grave: failure and darkness. An egomaniac is misled by flatterers; he succumbs to pleasure and pain, and other nasty things which become the causes of his tragic fall. There are ways to defeat ego on the path to success by controlling emotions, showing humility, and balancing intensity.
Isocrates began by informing the young man that “no adornment so becomes you as modesty, justice, and self-control; for these are the virtues by which, as all men are agreed, the character of the young is held in restraint.” “Practice self-control,” he said, warning Demonicus not to fall under the sway of “temper, pleasure, and pain.” And “abhor flatterers as you would deceivers; for both, if trusted, injure those who trust them.”
KEY POINTS:
- Emotions can destroy you; you need to control them.
- You need to accept new ideas, do not stick to your thoughts just.
- You need to work hard and be aware.
Balance talent and ambition and intensity:
The intensity of emotions lead distracts an egomaniac, and he sees himself through his own lens since he is ruled by his strong feelings, ambition, and his talents he starts believing that he is perfect from every angle and that there is no one who can defeat him. He starts ignoring the critical comments of mentors; he does things his own way; he hardly listens to others while he forgets the fact that there are people in the world who have traveled far away on the path he has been traveling on, and he does need them to guide them, show them the routes that have not been explored, and most importantly, to teach him what they have learned in a decade. Balance is crucial, and once you are able to control your emotions, you are not proud of your talents, you are open to new ideas and discussions, and you reach to different people who have achieved spectacular results in your field, you excel, you thrive, and you learn quickly.
Get out of your own head:
Having a rigid mindset is lethal, it has destroyed great leaders in the past, and it has been destroying those people who live in a fantasy world and are ignorant of new ideas and discussions. It is hard to learn with a fixed mindset since you live your life according to specific rules and principles; you follow what works for you since it is easy and it gives you comfort, but doing so lags you behind since people around you are getting adaptable to new things and tend to get the most out of it. Why would a man travel on a donkey cart to travel a long distance while a car is available? It is just to illustrate that what you think is good may not be that good and efficient; you to be open to new things since life changes from time to time. What was efficient yesterday may be disastrous today for those who are adaptable since they know the worth of time. An egomaniac lives in his own fantasy world; he does not like to be told to change his way of life or do this thing that way since it will save time and enhance the quality of his work. He takes comments negatively and suffers in the long run.
“What’s interesting about Sherman is that despite his connected father, almost no one would have predicted much more than regional accomplishments—least of all that he would one day need to take the unprecedented step of refusing the presidency of the United States. Unlike a Napoleon, who bursts upon the scene from nowhere and disappears in failure just as quickly, Sherman’s ascent was a slow and gradual one.”
Diligence and self-awareness:
For success, two things are crucial: diligence and self-awareness the fact that without hard work success is not guaranteed, and luck merely plays a role in success. The second thing is self-awareness: awareness not just of your surroundings, but you also need to be aware of your weakness and strengths; you need to explore ways to overcome your weakness and enhance your power. An egomaniac is led astray by flatterers since he wants to hear what makes him feel good and tends to avoid criticisms that can improve his work and life; the flatterers manipulate him for their advantage.
“Where Sherman had once been cautious, he was now confident. But unlike so many others who possess great ambition, he earned this opinion. As he carved a path from Chattanooga to Atlanta and then Atlanta to the sea, he avoided traditional battle after traditional battle. Any student of military history can see how the exact same invasion, driven by ego instead of a strong sense of purpose, would have had a far different ending.”
Conclusion:
Controlling emotions and feelings is important to get ahead in life since they cloud our judgments, and we succumb to them. Moreover, we need to get out of our heads and be open to new ideas and discussions. Also, we need to work hard and be aware of our surroundings and our weaknesses and strengths.
References:
- Holiday, R. (2019). Ego is the Enemy. Elex media komputindo.