Optimal grip
The reason to strengthen your ego, ultimately, is so you can best align it with (or get it out of the way of) the universe's preferences, as you can discern them, moment to moment.
What greater peace of mind could you ask for than knowing that what happens is what God wants?
A strong ego is tight, lean & small, with lots of space and mobility. Doesn't fly all over the room and identify with people and things, is easy to move from side to side when it's in the way.
The way to strengthen it is to face the scariest truth you can handle, over and over
Anger felt without resistance is a very different sensation than what many folks think of as “anger”
It feels like clarity, focused action, or a sense of “This is unacceptable.”
We are constantly representing people to ourselves in self-serving ways, in ways that gratify our egos and serve our ends. We stereotype and condescend, ignore and dehumanize. And because we don’t see people accurately, we treat them wrongly. Evil happens when people are unseeing, when they don’t recognize the personhood in other human beings.
David Brooks • How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
people think they want choices. but they prefer good defaults.
Instead of trying to be the best at one thing, try to be "merely" great at two things and then learn to combine them. Not only is this easier, but it will make your skillset more unique, cutting out the competition.
30 Useful Concepts (Spring 2024)
