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Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday – 88
Book discussion: Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday, overall highly recommended.
Here I will discuss my ideas about the book, overall impression, and I reference a lot of related material that is not in the book. Whenever I read something my mind likes to make connections with related material I have read. I will try to discern what I read in the book from external sources but I have to apologize ahead of time because everything I read eventually blurs together. What I find valuable about reading new books is not just the information content you get from the book directly, but also the directions the book can lead you once you key in on something and decide to pursue your own research.
I have heard some people argue that ego is healthy for a person (they interpret ego as “confidence” or some other positive trait). This is because they are confusing different definitions of ego. I often see disagreements stem from a difference in interpretation of definitions. This ego is not the Freudian definition. I need to explain that Ryan talks about the ego that is an obstacle to success. When self confidence becomes arrogance. Selfishness, Self absorption, and hubris.
Why is ego bad? Ego prevents you from adapting and changing. The ancient philosopher Epictetus, said ‘one cannot learn that which they think they already know’.”
When taking on a new challenge it’s critical that people suppress their ego and take on a “student mindset”. Like the martial arts master instructor says to the student, I can’t fill your cup if it’s already full. You must empty your cup first.
Ego distorts your perception of reality. In NLP the map is not the territory. The map is your perception of reality and the territory is reality itself. To be successful you need to have the most accurate perception of events that you can. Precise feedback will result in better practice and more effective results. Ego whispers to you “I’m good” or “I don’t need to practice more” or “I will crush this opponent”. Ryan suggests taking the indifferent spectator approach. The neutral observer is like “Spock” or Commander Data from Star Trek, logical. Emotions are good to motivation us to take action. After that they only get in the way. But they can’t be turned on and off easily. (My interpretation)
Dictionary.com:
1. the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought.
2. Psychoanalysis. the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment.
3. egotism; conceit; self-importance
The book has a 3-part structure – how ego manifests/affects these phases of our life: Aspire, Success, and Failure. He created these 3 categories because he mentions that you will always be in one of these categories, and ego can rear its ugly head at any time.
Before reading the book I had a similar theory. I use the example how people say “America is the best country in the world.” Although one can say that this statement shows pride in their nation. It is OK to be proud to be a citizen of your country. The problem is if you believe the country is the best, that implies there is nothing to learn by studying other countries. This is obviously false since there are many countries doing better than the USA in various categories. The better way to state national pride and also help make the country better is to say: “I love my country and I will do what it takes to make this the best place in the world to live.” Other countries can be a model to follow regarding policies where the USA is not #1. Ego will lead someone to feel they are the best and therefore there is nothing more to learn, no more improvements to
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Book discussion: Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday, overall highly recommended.
Here I will discuss my ideas about the book, overall impression, and I reference a lot of related material that is not in the book. Whenever I read something my mind likes to make connections with related material I have read. I will try to discern what I read in the book from external sources but I have to apologize ahead of time because everything I read eventually blurs together. What I find valuable about reading new books is not just the information content you get from the book directly, but also the directions the book can lead you once you key in on something and decide to pursue your own research.
I have heard some people argue that ego is healthy for a person (they interpret ego as “confidence” or some other positive trait). This is because they are confusing different definitions of ego. I often see disagreements stem from a difference in interpretation of definitions. This ego is not the Freudian definition. I need to explain that Ryan talks about the ego that is an obstacle to success. When self confidence becomes arrogance. Selfishness, Self absorption, and hubris.
Why is ego bad? Ego prevents you from adapting and changing. The ancient philosopher Epictetus, said ‘one cannot learn that which they think they already know’.”
When taking on a new challenge it’s critical that people suppress their ego and take on a “student mindset”. Like the martial arts master instructor says to the student, I can’t fill your cup if it’s already full. You must empty your cup first.
Ego distorts your perception of reality. In NLP the map is not the territory. The map is your perception of reality and the territory is reality itself. To be successful you need to have the most accurate perception of events that you can. Precise feedback will result in better practice and more effective results. Ego whispers to you “I’m good” or “I don’t need to practice more” or “I will crush this opponent”. Ryan suggests taking the indifferent spectator approach. The neutral observer is like “Spock” or Commander Data from Star Trek, logical. Emotions are good to motivation us to take action. After that they only get in the way. But they can’t be turned on and off easily. (My interpretation)
Dictionary.com:
1. the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought.
2. Psychoanalysis. the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment.
3. egotism; conceit; self-importance
The book has a 3-part structure – how ego manifests/affects these phases of our life: Aspire, Success, and Failure. He created these 3 categories because he mentions that you will always be in one of these categories, and ego can rear its ugly head at any time.
Before reading the book I had a similar theory. I use the example how people say “America is the best country in the world.” Although one can say that this statement shows pride in their nation. It is OK to be proud to be a citizen of your country. The problem is if you believe the country is the best, that implies there is nothing to learn by studying other countries. This is obviously false since there are many countries doing better than the USA in various categories. The better way to state national pride and also help make the country better is to say: “I love my country and I will do what it takes to make this the best place in the world to live.” Other countries can be a model to follow regarding policies where the USA is not #1. Ego will lead someone to feel they are the best and therefore there is nothing more to learn, no more improvements to