Ego and Self Respect

To have your self-respect intact, you must know two things: One; who you really are. Two; you never know enough. To keep your ego intact, you must know neither. – Marcus Hades

What is ego and what is self respect?

I believe there that ego and self respect are two very different attributes in an individual. But then again, they can also have a very thin line of difference in understanding it within themselves. Ego itself is very complex and self respect is fairly simple. But like all high attributes, ego is more common and self respect, rare.

As for all definitions, I can write pages on this, but I choose to be simple for this one. E for Ego, S for Self Respect.

E: It is ‘thinking’ you are superior, S: It is to ‘know’ you are sensible enough

E: Sensitive to self only, S: Sensitive to self as well as others concerned

E: ‘I don’t make mistakes.’ S: ‘I know I made a mistake. But I am wise enough to admit and fix it.’

E:  Negative to self growth via experiences, S: Positive to self growth via self realization

E: No respect for others (respect only for self), S: Respect for everyone, including self.

E: I am the best, S: I am good, but can get better

E: I am mature and know everything, S: I know what life is all about, but its less and I still have a lot to learn

E: Not disciplined; S: Disciplined

E: Arrogance; S: Dignity

E: Harsh and judgmental, S: Calm and intuitive

I believe ego is within all of us but sometimes, we choose it to dominate and cloud our other senses of reasoning, because it seems ‘more important’ than the other emotions. We all have a sense of everything – how others are and how we are. The moment the sense of who we are becomes more important and interferes with the sense of who others are, it is a play of the ego within us. This happens due to giving over importance to self than required and less importance to others than necessary. Ego is an exaggerated high estimate of oneself. When our ego is attacked, it usually results in anger.

Self respect on the other hand is not within all of us, as it is tough to find out that line of difference between ego and self respect. But it is the quality of a very reasonable and actual realization of one’s abilities and qualities, vis-à-vis what others think of you. Self respect does not destroy the self and supports an individual during hard times, because it is always very reasonably self-controlled and calm and not instinctively temperamental. It knows the causes and the eventualities of its effects. It is never an exaggerated high estimate of the self, but a controlled form of a true insight. When our self-respect is hurt, it usually results in self-doubt followed by self-realisation.

When your ego is functioning, you will always see outwards. When the self respect is functioning, you will see more inwards and ask yourself important questions.