That’s a loaded question, right?  Is our ego getting in the way of our happiness?  What if it is?  What can we do about it?  Well, that’s exactly what we talk about today.  

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was wondering, is our ego getting in the way of our happiness because of our human desire to be “right”?  I watched this TED Talk about this concept and I’ll link to it in the show notes.  

The question is, do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?  This TED talk hypothesized that the key is to not take things personally.  Well, if you are anything like me, that’s easier said than done.  

The first strategy to push your ego aside and choose happiness is to realize: it’s not about me.  In fact, it’s rarely about us when we are actually taking things personally.  To counteract this natural tendency, we can put ourselves in the other person’s shoes.  If we are taking it personally that the car behinding us is driving too close, or honking their horn when we are just trying to find our turn.  Maybe the person is having an emergency or something where he needs to get somewhere quick and it’s not about us at all.  

Now here’s the kicker.  If that doesn’t work - and it won’t always.  The flip side is:  It’s about me. 

Yup, you see, when someone says something to you, that you deep down know or have an insecurity about, it hurts.  And in those moments, it is about me.  You see, you can only take things personally if someone touches a raw nerve.  When I am being criticized for being bossy or cold, it hurts, because deep down, I wonder if I come across as bossy or not compassionate.  But you see, when someone hits that raw nerve, and it hurts, that’s the moment when you give yourself some empathy.  

At the end of the day.  People will be mean, they will say things that hurt your feelings, you will say things to yourself that you would never say to anyone else, and yet, we need to remember, no matter what people say to us, we always keep our value.   We may be bruised, beaten and be in our feelings, but our personal value does not change based on other people’s opinions. 

Inspired by this TED Talk.  

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/