ego EGO Ego

Yesterday, I started watching Blue Lock, an anime about soccer. The show's premise is to find the best striker for the National Japanese Soccer Team to play in the World Cup. The show emphasizes that in Japanese culture, most people prefer to have their roles assigned to them and don't like to break away from that mold. However, in soccer, players have to break their roles in order to succeed and win, which goes against their cultural norm.

I used to be a person in which I liked to have my roles assigned so I can just follow it and move on in life. The school system definitely emphasizes this kind of thinking, in which you are given a role as a student and you just have to listen to your teacher and do whatever they say. Same thing in Asian culture. You are a child or a grandchild and your supposed to listen to everything your elders and family say with complete authority. However as growing up and you can probably agree that when you listen to these people from older generations you can often be lead astray.

During my recent trip to Dubai, my aunt and uncle were under the delusion that the Indian diet is super healthy. They were also complaining about their son, who makes his own food and refuses to eat what they make. To give some context their son was super into fitness and weightlifting and thus their Indian diet was not sufficient for him to meet his goals. To give more context, my aunt is a sweet tooth who loves to eat food. She kept telling us "you don't have to be so healthy" so her ego could feel good about the choices she makes when in fact she is just a glutton. She also kept telling my family to eat more, so she wouldn’t feel guilty about her choices. If she had a strong ego then my family's lifestyle would have no impact on her choices, but since deep down she knew she was not healthy, cracks in her ego started to arise once my family were open about our healthier lifestyle choices. I have no respect for her.

The ego keeps us aligned with our identity and beliefs we have regarding ourselves. If we believe we are supposed to have a better life then the ones we currently live, the ego will work hard to get there. If we believe we are worse than others, the ego will work hard to keep this belief true. All of this processing takes place in the subconscious, and our ego either retains or avoids information to make sure the ego is not challenged. That is why if someone thinks they are healthy then their ego will avoid information that challenges this belief, or they will dismiss any information presented otherwise. Once their ego is challenged, people tend to become defensive. If one aspect of their ego is shattered, then their entire ego may come along with it. They would then need to face the honest reality, which most people, including myself, do not want to do.

Thank you for reading, let's grow together :)