I spent years saying I didn’t have an ego; I was just me. 🤷‍♂️

Chilled out, happy with my lot in life, Mr Reliable. 😎

But what made me decide those were the things I should be? 🤔

It was the ego I was so adamant I didn’t have! 😱

We traditionally think of an ego as the thing that makes not so nice people, the way they are. They have a real ego……. 🤬🤯

But it’s your ego that kicks in to make you form that opinion. 🤦‍♂️

Hmmm. 🤔

So why, if we all have an ego, are we not all hot-headed psychopaths? 🤬

It all boils down to our experiences growing up, from what we were told by our parents, our teachers, and our friends to the consequences of certain events in our lives. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧

For example, if we hurt ourselves doing something like climbing up something and falling, we form an opinion that we shouldn’t do that again. 🤕

But let’s say our friend climbs up the same thing and doesn’t fall or hurt themselves, then to them, it was a great thing to do, and they will do it again and again! 😁

As we grow, our beliefs have a tendency to get stronger, meaning when we meet people with opposing beliefs, we very quickly form an opinion that they are wrong, and we potentially don’t like them as a result. 😤

When I first got a business coach, I won’t lie, it was against my will and my ego kicked right in and I went into my first coaching session with my defences up and the belief that I already knew everything I needed to know and what could my coach possibly teach me about the business I was running! 🤷‍♂️

Ironic that several years later, I am myself now a coach! 🤦‍♂️

One of the first books my coach got me to read was ‘Ego is the enemy’ by Ryan Holiday. 📚

It immediately helped me identify that I had an ego but more importantly that I could change what my ego told me, and I could actually, sometimes be wrong. 🤦‍♂️

Although don’t let my wife know I said that! 😂

It taught me that differing opinions are just that. Opinions. 🤨

It doesn’t mean one has to be wrong and one right. ✔️ ❌

Once I learnt this, I became open to the coaching and my personal growth then enabled great business growth too. 📈

I had to change before the business could. 🙋‍♂️

That’s it for today’s business bite. 

I’d strongly recommend you give the book a read! 📗

It certainly opened the door to huge changes in my life! 🚪