CORPORATE SUFI: Disrupting the ego to regain personal freedom

The word “ego” is from Latin, and means “the self.” To the egotist, everything revolves around the self. However, far from enhancing a person’s stature, egotism diminishes it. In fact it can become an acronym for ‘‘Edging Gifts Out’. You edge out gifts such as creativity, intuition, energy, objectiveness, wisdom and happiness.

Besides limiting growth, ego is also the root cause of all conflict, including the workplace. According to task management software firm AtTask, employees spend more than 2.5 hours per week trying to resolve conflict, which translates into $360 billion in losses for US companies every year. While Dr Dan Dana of the Dana Mediation Institute estimates that 65 percent of all employee performance problems are due to bad relationships, not bad employees.

The following thoughts and questions can begin the process of disrupting your negative ego:

1) The acid test is to ask yourself: Am I happy and at peace?

If the answer is yes, you have transformed the ego. If the answer is a mixed bag of yes and no, then there is work to be done.

2) Ask people close to you what they think about your behaviour, actions, etc. Do they see negative ego in you? Be objective about what other people think about your behaviour and how it affects them.

3) Are you living and working in the present moment? Ego takes you away from the present because while you’re doing a task your ego will say things like: “I’m not making enough money, I’m not getting the recognition I deserve, I need to pay my bills, I’m not happy, I don’t have enough.”

Be aware of this and try to refocus on the task at hand.

4) Evaluate how many of your thoughts are ego-driven and how many are driven by the desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Replace ego-driven thoughts with actions that make a difference to one and all.

5) Catch yourself when you get frustrated, because your ego is putting the focus on you and wanting everyone else to comply.

6) Remember that no one achieves greatness alone. Everything you achieve is connected in some way with help and support from others – be it your team, family, friends, supporters or customers.

7) Value diversity: value the difference in others and see their strengths. Your openness to look at and appreciate the strengths of others, rather than being too self-centered, reflects positive pride. This is the powerful positive force that counteracts the ego and helps remind you that someone else’s strength does not diminish your own strengths.

8) Express gratitude for the many things you have – your five senses, your intelligence, health, family, friends, even life itself. Remember also the power of knowledge, and the words of Albert Einstein “More the knowledge, lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge, more the ego.”

Azim Jamal, Corporate Sufi Blog.corporatesufi.com