Yes, I’m Proud to Have a BIG Ego...

Why is it that society construes having an Ego as such a negative thing? I really wish people would educate themselves. I'm sure Bey and the good folks that helped her write this song didn't expect someone like me to believe that she was talking about his Ego when it's evident that she was talking about his...'sense of confidence'. That's what we'll call it for the sake of this post. Either way...BIG difference.

Here is society’s definition of ego:

The part of you that defines itself as a personality, separates itself from the outside world, and considers itself a separate entity from the rest of nature and the cosmos. Perhaps necessary for survival in some evolutionary bygone, in modern times it leads only to (albeit often disguised) misanthropic beliefs and delusion.

Really??? I know that Freud was on a cocaine high when he brainstormed and recorded some of his most brilliant work, but he was a lot smarter than most of today's society. The man’s IQ is estimated to be 156! I read somewhere that the average American's IQ is 98. Who would you believe? I'm betting on Freud. Regardless of what people think of him, his theories are still used today.

Anyway, I say all of that to say that he did a lot of work to clearly define the three parts of the human psyche: the ID, Ego, and Super-ego. Believe it or not, the Ego is one of the better parts of the human psyche.

According to Freud, we are born with the ID. Think about that for one second. You are a baby when you develop the ID. Babies only want basic needs and they act out when they don’t get them. It’s all part of the pleasure principle. In other words, the ID wants whatever feels good at the time without any regard to the reality of the situation. It just wants instant gratification and doesn’t care about the needs or desires of anyone else. It’s out for self.

The EGO is the second part of your personality. Believe it or not, it’s NOT based on the pleasure principle at all. The Ego is actually based on the reality principle. It understands that other people have needs, wants and desires and that being selfish can, and will, hurt us in the long run. It’s job is to pacify your inner-child (ID) while taking the reality of the situation into consideration. Tell me how that matches society's definition of the Ego...

The SUPER-EGO is the moral part of the human psyche. Since we believe that it takes a villiage to raise a child, I’ll go with the notion that the Super-ego develops from moral and ethical restraints that society places on us. It dictates right from wrong. This is something we all need to survive, but too much of a good thing is never good.

Out of the three, the Ego has to be the strongest because it has to maintain balance and control. It must satisfy the needs of the ID, not upset the Super-ego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Can you imagine if that were your primary function? Most of us couldn’t handle it. I would crack while dealing with the inner-child!

One article explained the Ego’s job pretty well:

‘If the ID gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person's life. If the Super-ego becomes to strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world.’

Freud, although he had a bit of a cocaine habit, was a smart man. I’m sticking with his research that proves the Ego is a wonderful thing. I may just get a shirt made that says, “I’ve got a BIG ego” because in reality, it means that I’m normal. That’s something that most people in today’s society can’t say. Judge me if you’d like, but if you decide to, you may need to get your Super-ego checked.

Knowing all of this, I’m going to need for people to stop using the word Ego in a negative context. Having a big Ego is a great thing! The problem with society is that most of us have huge IDs (just think of Kanye and all of his crazy antics) or big Super-egos. The Ego is the one that helps us to remain normal. I think I’ll take that over being an ID-maniac any day.