thoughts on ego involvement and the weight of being

Maybe that's what this essay is really about: the journey from "What will this say about me?" to "What does this want to become?" From "How can I prove I'm good enough?" to "How can I be present enough to do justice to this moment, this challenge, this opportunity to engage with something larger than my own small anxieties?"

But here's what I find most interesting: it's not that we need to stop caring. If anything, the people who create meaningful work tend to care more than average, not less. The difference is in where they direct that caring. Instead of caring about being seen as good, they care about doing good work. Instead of caring about avoiding failure, they ca... See more

I remember reading about Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist, describing how his best performances came when he stopped trying to prove himself and started simply serving the music. When he shifted from "How do I show everyone I'm a great musician?" to "How do I honor this piece of music in this moment?" something fundamental changed. The ego stepped aside, and ... See more