The ME in me !!




CAUTION : This is not one of those extremely entertaining feel good posts.. It is about how Selfishness can be interpreted as a virtue and about how it is important to be the Brand " U " .. But I promise you that it would be worth a read and of course debatable

How many of us, as kids , were taught that EGO is an unparliamentary and a banished word from the dictionary of human behaviour ?? My grandmother , mother and almost an entire generation of I-dont-even-know-who-they-are relatives keep telling me that I have a huge EGO.. Of course except my father.. who always keeps telling me that he respects me for my Ego. Hes probably one of the very very few people in our modern/civilized/sophisticated society who knows what exactly Ego means..

All those noble souls who know who Sigmund Freud is , might know what exactly I am trying to convey.. Also known as the father of Psychology/Psychotherapy, he gave a new definition of what Ego is... Human behaviour is primarily controlled by two instincts- LIBIDOS and THANATOS... The Sex and Death instincts.. Well, though it is absolutely true, many of us or rather most of us wouldnt buy it.. Well this is something that we may buy.. This is how it goes..

Let us assume that mental life is the function of an apparatus to which we ascribe the characteristics of being extended in space and of being made up of several portions.. The three portions that Freud talks about are -- Id, Ego and Super Ego.. These are the theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described. According to this model of the psyche, the id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends; the ego is the organised, realistic part; and the super-ego plays the critical and moralising role.. Come to see of it this way.. The Ego comprises that organised part of the personality structure that includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the ego, although not all of the operations of the ego are conscious. The ego separates what is real. It helps us to organise our thoughts and make sense of them and the world around us..

Lemme give u an example.. ID is the part of the mind that makes u want a gal as soon as you see her.. It is an impulse , a desire... a thought that is a primary and a raw motive.. Your super ego says "Hey !! U cannot think this way about her dude.. she is not yours..." Well Ego is the smart dude that intervenes and says "Go ask her if she likes you too.. Get married to her and she is all yours.." This is just a raw example.. Ego is the RATIONALITY in us.. The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world ... The ego represents what may be called reason and common sense, in contrast to the id, which contains the passions ... in its relation to the id it is like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse; with this difference, that the rider tries to do so with his own strength, while the ego uses borrowed forces..

Each one of us should ask our Ego on what we want.. It is something that brands us and defines us very clearly.. Ego is something that says "There are no blacks and whites, only grays".. It teaches a person to say that he is unwilling to be wholly good and at the same time he is not to be considered wholly evil !!
It teaches us to respect ourself and love the ME in you.. It teaches us that selfishness is a virtue.. At this juncture, Im reminded of Ayn Rand, who said "To love is to value. Only a rationally selfish man, a man of self-esteem, is capable of love - because he is the only man capable of holding firm, consistent, uncompromising, unbetrayed values. The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone."

But how many of us listen to the Ego in us ?? We are objectivists with reason and purpose.. How would it be if we become individualists wid not only reason and purpose but also self-esteem ?? Its about rationality and not just reason.. Its about productivity and not jus purpose.. Its about Pride and not just Self-Esteem..

We are here to live our life the way we want.. At the same time, we have to make a choice.. Are we here to just live like those common masses who cannot differentiate the ME in them or are we here to leave our foot prints on the sands of time !!

Comments

  1. This is too much..
    I don't take life this seriously :)
    Couldn't even read the whole post :)
    Life is beautiful Just enjoy it :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. @ Apte

    This is my way of enjoyin life :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow .. as usual great writing!!
    as i started reading i thought its going to be almost a lecture on OB !! plz i have had enuf of it fr 2 trims :-P
    but the closing part was nice... completely agree with Ayn rand's words.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ Lakshmi

    Hmm many ppl felt its like an OB lecture di.. Im not able to get outta the OB hangover di.. enna panne..

    Ayn Rand is awesone di
    And thank u so much for ur continuous encouragement :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good analysis and writing..
    Like the thoughts "love the ME in you / differentiate the ME in them "

    என்மனதில்
    விர் என்று
    ஒரு உணர்வு
    "பார் என்னை"

    என என்னை
    உணர்த்திப்
    போகப் போனேன்
    நான். - "நகுலன்"

    Regarding "Ego teaches us that selfishness is a virtue", it depends upon how we are defining the "I",
    'நானெனும் பொய்யை நடத்துவோன் நான்
    ..." - பாரதி

    ReplyDelete
  6. I thought you to be a 7th class kid...:)
    who draws a boy and a hut and a stream,some triangular mountains with sun emerging from it....
    or stories of panchtantra......


    Another Nietzsche in the pipeline i guess :)

    great stuff

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Mac and karthick...

    Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. @ Ashutosh

    well !! I told u appearances re deceptive :P and Nietzsche is god !! no comparison

    ReplyDelete

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