Fuck Ego.

Ego is when you put the mask on that you create that you think makes you look like the person you wish you were. It's you confusing yourself for an illusion. Ego is pretending you don't make mistakes. Ego is thinking that you did it the best you could when you could have done more.

Ego is hiding behind excuses, blaming others, and screaming to get your way. Ego is resenting those around you that have accomplished things you value. Ego is thinking others are thinking about you all the time. Ego thinking that if you work on your appearance you don't need to work on your character.  

Ego isn't always bad but even when it's right it's too seductive. When you're confident enough your ego helps reward you and as you congratulate yourself your ego swells and soon the mask returns and you go about the world assuming people care about the facade. Those that celebrate your facade only do so in an effort to support their own egotistical delusions. Those that care about you challenge your facade and seek to understand the entire you. They acknowledge your flaws as a part of you and wish for the development of positive change or at least an acceptance of the truth. 

If you focus on the present moment and forget to control your image your ego fades away. Certain activities force you to focus on what you are doing. For example, exercise, sports, music, and reading can take over your cognitive resources leaving no room for ego. Meditation and honest conversation can also help shed the facade.

Instead of ego work on discipline, balance, and growth. This is easier said than done and distracting oneself from these nobler pursuits is often a challenge. One can never be perfect and it is in the pursuit of perfectionism that one also attempts to legitimize ego. Striking a balance between healthy confidence and honest criticism seems to be a winning strategy for living a good life that doesn't hold the self as something it is not but also doesn't demean the self for the things it lacks. Honesty is key and the ego is rarely honest.  

Worthless Meat-Sac

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I suppose most of my life I've been a little depressed. Not enough to warrant any one's attention. Just enough to dwindle away any remaining hope, pride or confidence from a once playful child. A once hopeful squirt.

Along the way and at no time, in particular, the lust for life and all it could offer subsided. Reality set in hard and with little push back from myself and for Reality, it was easy to interject a little taste of spiteful consequence into an already uncertain world. 

Ahead, I only saw chaos and unpredictability. All I saw was my own failure, greed and no one to make proud, least of all myself. Who am I to demand such things of myself? Am I not just another human, doomed to a life on this earthly hell? With torments within and torments abroad.

The world, seeking to destroy you throws death and confusion at you. So you accept your fate. I told myself I was just another in a long line of worthless humans. No more important than the distant stars,  a speck of dust on the planet. With no God and no one to impress and no chance for greatness, why even try?

In the background of my mind negativity was always there, demanding more and expecting less. Never enough and never to anywhere. I thrived amidst the opportunities afforded. Blessed and cursed by the world's prescribed options. Adrift and ashamed. 

I am still ashamed of my lack of fortitude and passion. I am still ashamed when I find myself following someone undeserving of my loyalty. But it is not the case that I am just a cog and it is not the case that I have no choices. I have consequences to conjure and futures to inspire.

It is the case that I can accept my frailties and work toward improving the best aspects of myself. To take on tasks that improve my attitude, my mood and that create confidence. The ones that help me appreciate life and find joy. Activities and indulgences that I can take pride in even if I'm not always willing to divulge them to others.

There are positive and negative behavioral feedback loops that one engages in whether one is paying attention or not. If one is paying attention and wants the depression to lessen then it makes sense that one should engage in activities that promote positive psychological feedback.

A great book that I read that facilitated my acceptance of my current state and empowered my dedication to make my life better is called The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Brandon. Another book I read that helped me rethink my relationships with others is called Real-Time Relationships: The Logic of Love by Stephan Molyneux. After reading these books I came away with actionable steps to take control over my life in a way that I didn't know was possible beforehand. I started to look at my life as something to be taken seriously as a limited resource that was worth investing in. For more on this topic read my blog about losing 45 lbs and why as well as other blogs about personal development.

Even after about five years of a concerted effort to no longer treat myself as a worthless meat-sac I still get depressed and still, my depression takes the form of a subtle, yet persistent pessimism, nihilism, and doubt. A voice inside my head that looks at my accomplishments, skills, and humanity and judges it all as a pointless endeavor unworthy of continuance. I stop writing, stop learning, stop appreciating myself and I start to doubt that I am worthy of any effort at all. Fortunately, as time goes by and I work at improving my self-esteem these bouts of depression are fewer and far between and I hope that in time positivity and enthusiasm will take on a more dominant role in my psychology.



Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Six-Pillars-Self-Esteem-Definitive-Leading/dp/0553374397

https://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Relationships-Logic-Stefan-Molyneux-ebook/dp/B004Z8S1TA

https://joesnotesblog.com/blog/2018/10/3/re-post-a-new-lifestyle-how-i-lost-45-lbs-and-kept-it-off