by Robert Cooper

Created on: June 18, 2008

The untamed ego has probably had more effect socially than any other personality characteristic known to man. It created the popular philosophy that a person must win at almost any cost or they as individuals lose their credibility.

Another trait of this character, "inflated" ego is fear. Fear that one won't achieve victory, that heaven forbid, one might FAIL. It is agreed universally in the circles of psychology that anger is the result of fear. Fear that one might lose what he already has or might not get what he thinks he deserves.

This driving fear generating anger stirred up with a little selfish pride pours fuel on the fire of an already wrong sized ego. This fear, anger and pride trio reeks devastation and chaos at every opportunity. And many times in our society this philosophy is learned at a very early age!

For instance, even in T-ball,five and six year old boys and girls together are taught to "WIN,WIN,WIN!.
And as they progress to older leagues the pressure to win only grows greater. This belief is not only taught in baseball, but all youth oriented team sports like soccer, football, and volleyball. Some might say that that is just the "competitive spirit".

Then this writer asks you to look at cheerleading,
those sweet little beauties that range from age four to twenty one. Bumping and grinding to movements that are very similar to the undulations of exotic dancers! Not to mention the death defying acrobatic stacking and body catching that reminds one of acts in a circus just for the sake of being "the winners".

Now as we are moving from being educated to becoming a part of the work force, we usually move in one of two directions: the hourly wage workers or the corporate politicians. No matter which direction we choose that old "win, win,win" philosophy just haunts us where ever we go.
As an hourly earner, many of the experienced older employees will help but not give up their knowledge so they can remain at the "head of the class". Job security so to speak. I'm the best.

In corporate politics, most of the up and coming ambitious climbers will manipulate you, lie to you, and steal your ideas just to impress the boss at that moment as to how impressively ingenious and valuable they are to him and the corporation. Nothing short of prodigy.

The practice of being praised for doing the very best you can without winning is a dying art . And working together as a team for the good of everyone on the team with the possibility of no recognition is all but obsolete. The last remaining remnants of people in our society that believe it's not necessary to "win" to be successful stem from people that are striving to live a "spiritual" existence. Yes, ones that believe that monetary gain is not the measure of success. Also these believe that living by moral principles is a necessary practice.

To sum this up, the "ego" has really taken a bad rap. For if it is properly deflated, it can actually turn into a good thing, the elusive trait"humility".

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