Why You Should Let Go Of Your Ego And 11 Ways To Release It

Once you learn to distinguish your true self from your ego, you can change how you think and act in the world.

The ego is that voice in your head that tells you you aren’t good enough, can’t do something, or aren’t worthy of love and happiness. 

It’s an assumed identity driven by fear, insecurity, and self-doubt.

Here are some suggestions on how to let go of your ego to live a more fulfilling and authentic life.

What Is the Ego in Spirituality?

The ego is the aspect of us that deals with our identity. It is the part of us that lets us know we are different from other people, and we must do everything we can to protect ourselves.

You’ll know your ego is running the show when you:

• Look to others for approval and validation and react defensively to threats.
• Try to prove your worth to others.
• Get defensive and feel threatened.
• Are aware of your distinct identity from others.
• Aspire to be special and unique.
• Feel separate from others.
• Feel isolated and alone.

Spirituality sees the ego as a barrier because it prevents us from realizing how interconnected everything is.

We lose sight of this connectedness when we identify too much with our egos.

We become trapped in our perspective, and this can lead to suffering.

Spirituality also teaches us to let go of our egos, giving us a different worldview.

When we let go of our egos, we can see that we aren’t separate selves operating in our own little worlds.

We recognize that life is more than the sum of our unique experiences and thoughts.

Ultimately, spirituality can help us find meaning in life and overcome suffering by releasing our attachments – most notably to our ego self.

What Are the Reasons for Letting Go of the Ego?

When on the spiritual path, it is essential to let go of the ego for several reasons.

1. More Creativity

One reason is that it makes us more open to new ideas and receptive to them. We tend to see things in black-and-white terms when we are clinging to our egos and are closed off to anything that does not conform to our preconceived notions. 

If we let go of our egos, we can think more creatively, and we are more open to new possibilities.

2. Stronger Relationships

Dissolving the ego also allows us to form stronger relationships with others. When we are too focused on ourselves, it’s hard to understand and care about what other people are going through. We may also come across as arrogant or self-centered. 

When we let go of our egos, however, we can relate to people much more deeply and form stronger bonds with them. 

3. Deeper Spiritual Experience

Lastly, letting go of the ego lets us get back in touch with our true nature, which is pure consciousness without any limits or attachments.

When we identify too much with our egos, we limit ourselves on a spiritual level and can’t feel true happiness.

4. Less Self-Focus

Your ego is your sense of self-importance or self-worth. It is the part of you that wants to be better than others, to be right and validated all the time. Egoism can also manifest as bias, competitiveness, and arrogance.

If you feel stuck or unable to connect with others, you must let go of your ego. It is a defense mechanism that attempts to protect you from letting other people hurt your feelings.

When you learn to let it go, you will feel safe enough to focus on other people’s wants and desires instead of your fears and worries.

How to Let Go of Ego: 11 Practices to Help You Release It

The following 11 techniques will teach you how to be more present in the moment, let go of your fears, relate authentically to others, and discover the benefits of letting go of your attachments and aversions.

1. Understand the nature of your ego.

Your mind is your ego. Once your mind takes over your perception of reality, it transforms into an egoic mind. It then governs your life. You feed it by constantly changing your identification in the world of changing forms. 

It is your ego that controls most of your mental and emotional activity. Although you perceive your thoughts and feelings as merely repetitive, they are also often negative and pointless.

2. Think about why you should drop your ego.

If you are on the path of spiritual awakening, it is essential to understand why you need to drop your ego.

Your feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and habits make up your ego. If they tend to be negative, they can keep you from being happy and peaceful. 

One of the most important things you can do for your spiritual growth is to learn to let go of your ego and focus on increasing your spiritual awareness.

3. Identify your attachments and aversions.

You should do some soul-searching if you hang on to your ego. If you have an out-of-control ego, you are more likely to make self-sabotaging decisions that will ruin your life. 

Since your ego is part of your personality, letting go of it can be extremely difficult. One way to slowly loosen its hold on you is to align yourself with humanistic values that affirm human dignity, compassion, and service.

As you release the need to control life and work toward embracing these values, you’ll find your ego becomes quieter and less intrusive.

---

More Related Articles

27 Real-Life Examples Of How Less Is Often More

Forgetting To Be Mindful? Try These 15 Mindfulness Reminder Ideas To Maintain Your Practice

Start Your Week With Mindfulness Using These 13 Mindful Monday Ideas

---

4. Transform a negative ego into a positive one.

A  healthy ego indicates you have self-esteem and can see your strengths and vulnerabilities without attaching to either.  

It motivates you to work hard, be creative, take risks, be courageous, and build resilience. It will help you overcome self-doubt and achieve your goals. 

And if you can calm your ego through spiritual practices like mindfulness, you can listen to it without reacting negatively. 

Learning to retrain and quieten your ego is the first step to taking charge of your life.

5. Drop your negative emotions.

It is tough to let go of a toxic ego, one that’s filled with fear and resentment, but it is essential for spiritual growth and personal happiness. 

An overdeveloped ego can adversely affect relationships and make you feel awful about everyone and everything. 

By recognizing the signs that your ego is out of control, you can avoid feeling hurt and trying to intimidate others.

6. Don’t let your ego define you.

To avoid getting too abstract, simply think of your ego as the little voice inside your head. If it tells you that you are not good enough, then you have the power to change your inner conversation. 

The truth is that a negative, self-loathing ego has no place in your world. Don’t let it define who you are. Your real nature has to take its place. 

You must remember, acknowledge, and respect your “true self.” You have to ensure you don’t let your ego control and derail your life.

7. Revisit your values.

Do you admire your friends, family, or favorite mentors for their sense of humor, intelligence, or ability always to see the best in people? 

As you take time to think by learning what matters most to you in other people, you can begin to identify your values. Once you know your values, you can start living a life that is more authentic to yourself.

8. Consider other people’s perspectives.

The ego can be one of the biggest obstacles to seeing the world through the eyes of others. It doesn’t consider the perception of others or the facts of the situation; it only sees half the story. 

A lopsided ego can stop you from moving forward and make it hard to see the whole picture of reality.

9. Embrace spiritual practices.

Practicing presence, gratitude, and meditation help you detach from your ego and the suffering it causes. 

When you are present with an activity or a person, your mind is engaged in the experience. It isn’t wandering off into upsetting memories or anxiety about the future. It is simply there, in the moment.

Gratitude also supports ego dissolution, as you focus on what you have rather than what is missing from your life.

Meditation as a regular practice supports all of your mindfulness practices, making it easier to remain present. Meditation quiets the ego and transports you to an internal sense of connectedness and calm.

10. Practice random acts of kindness.

Practicing random acts of kindness involves helping strangers in need, helping a lost child find their mother in the mall, adopting a puppy from a shelter, or paying for the groceries of the senior behind you at the cash register.

Any selfless act of kindness in which you do something simply because you know it will benefit or please someone else diminishes the ego self. 

11. Stay humble.

You need to do a lot of soul-searching to let go of your ego. You need to consider how much effort, energy, and money you have put into building your self-esteem. 

You can better spend this energy doing something else, such as sharing your talents, without having to take a bow because you recognize that everyone is connected to you on a spiritual level. 

Final Thoughts

What is your ego? In Latin, the word ego means “I.” The ego is the part of us obsessed with being different, distinct, and unique. 

A good way to turn the script is just to practice humility. When you compare yourself to others, this either makes you feel inferior or superior. 

All your feelings of dissatisfaction are manifestations of your ego. Fortunately, you can train yourself to let it all go through various spiritual practices and mindset adjustments.