Personal Development Ideas

Ego management: Envisaging our future April 24, 2012

Understanding the necessity of controlling the ego, or managing the ego, is important if we are to create the future we want for ourselves in our personal development or self-improvement programs and goals.

The ego, which is not to be confused with simple egotism, can be thought of in many ways, or as having a number of diverse components, but it is often simply that voice in our head which is constantly chattering or thinking, either aloud or visually.

One of the keys to successful personal development, or self-improvement, is having a good grasp or appreciation of the importance of the present. The ego, in its tendency to constantly look both back and forward can interfere with this, particularly in the case of imagining our future.

If we are not careful in terms of managing or controlling the ego, efforts towards accomplishment in the present can be sabotaged by the ego’s daydreaming optimistically about the future.

Ironically, there is, therefore, a danger of subconsciously procrastinating personal development tasks in the present by thinking we are doing something concrete in the present by simply by thinking optimistically about getting things done in the future.

We can miss opportunities for achievement in the present because we are taking the easier path of visualization of success in the future. We should instead be focusing on the things that need to be done in the present to concretely create the future we want.

It’s something like creating an ambitious “to-do” list. Making the list gives us a sense of accomplishment, but nothing is going to happen unless we starting doing the items on the list right now.

Not tomorrow, not next week, but now.