I understand why all the philosophers of the world past and present say that in order to be happy and content, you must kill your ego? Yes, it's a way to live happier and be content when you declare yourself as a nobody. However, is it practical or applicable with our present life? I don't think so.

Today’s life lesson is about not killing your ego, but understand ego better, and understanding when to use our ego and when to let it go.

What is your ego?

Our ego is everything that we are known for. It is our reputation. Ego is our identity - or all our identifying labels. It’s my name, gender, ethnicity, my country, my language, my religion, my roles - a mother, sister, boss, assistant, neighbor - our career: doctor, teacher, driver, or mechanic. Some of these were attached to us even before birth, but others are made in the process of growing up.

Our ego separates us from each other; gives us the imaginary feeling of superiority, but our body and soul is longing for oneness and connection.

Why is ego bad?

Reason 1: The more labels that we attach to ourselves, the harder it becomes to break free from them. We feel stuck, unhappy and too big or too important - in our head - to admit our faults or see our vulnerability as a human being, and that causes a lot of problems with our physical and mental health.

When we don’t understand the separation of our natural body and our identifying labels, we think we are all those things and cling to them; fight and even die for them, that is the second reason why ego is bad.

Reason 3: With our big ego we might manipulate or take advantage of events and situations for our own gains and end up hurting people. People who are all equal in nature.

How to kill your ego?

Well, I don’t think we can kill our ego completely unless we become someone who renounces everything and prefers to be free of all things. The ego is there whether we like it or not.

The best solution is understanding and remembering these TWO key points on ego when our ego is hurt or when we are separating ourselves from the rest because of our identifying labels:

Understand that ego is not me…. It’s all things about me, but not me. Whatever they are, they are not more important than my life, health and wellbeing. Not my country, not my religion, not my language, ethnicity, and not even my name.

Understanding that every human being is created equally. Treating everyone with respect and dignity. Doesn’t matter if I meet the biggest celebrity out there or a wanderer on the street. I treat them the same as I want to be treated, with respect, compassion and understanding. I always remind myself that I am not superior or inferior in the presence of another human being. I am exactly the same as everyone around me.

What helped to recognize my humbleness:

Travel, which exposed me to unfamiliar people and situations
Gratitude, for being thankful even if bad situations
Faith, for believing that everything will be alright
Vulnerability, for accepting my dependence and the fact that I can fall sick, broke, alone, and dead at any moment.
AND Meditation, for controlling my thoughts and understanding the mind’s job in my life

All of these helped me to value life, connections and similarities rather than all those man-made labels that separate us from each other and our nature.