Practically speaking,
EGO is universally present, & it is
MANIFESTED as RIGIDITY, the
DEGREE of which
VARIES according to the situation. It is possible that many a times a junior would tell the boss 'SIR YOU ARE RIGHT' (half the sentence) the Latter UNHEARD part of the sentence being BECAUSE YOU ARE THE BOSS. (
Situation Prevails)
Long ago I read an interesting description of an INDIVIDUAL'S THOUGHT PROCESS about a situation or a point: There are FOUR POSSIBLE CASES......
- I KNOW (that) I KNOW
- I KNOW (that) I DON'T KNOW
- I DON'T KNOW (that) I DON'T KNOW &
- I DON'T KNOW (that) I KNOW
With
'I KNOW (that) I KNOW' (Knowledgeable) &
'I DON'T KNOW (that) I DON'T KNOW' (commenting upon everything around but seen as Stupidity by society) the INDIVIDUAL (BOTH types) would be clearly
RIGID. Here the
BRANDING of EGOISTIC is bound to come.
In case of individuals with acceptance of
'I KNOW (that) I DON'T KNOW' &
'I DON'T KNOW (that) I KNOW' the RIGIDITY would be ABSENT. Here the individual's EGOISTIC nature would not be visible as the PERSON doesn't FLAUNT it. (In fact the
I Don't Know I Know BEHAVIOUR is a STUMBLING BLOCK in that Individuals Progress).
Somehow I feel compelled to compare it to
TEMPERATURE & FEVER in HUMANS. A range of 97.6 F to 98.8 F (35.5 C to 37.00 C) axillary teperature is considered NORMAL.
ABOVE this is FEVER or a PHYSIOLOGICALLY ABNORMAL CONDITION.
All RICH DON'T FLAUNT their WEALTH through Jewellery. Thus
THERE SEEMS to be A THRESHOLD for these things
in the MIND of PEOPLE.
Similarly DEGREE of EXPRESSION of EGO (which POSSIBLY is UNIVERSAL) makes for BRANDING of someone as EGOIST.
As observed by Nikhil, the RIGIDITY or LAZYNESS of an ASSOCIATE is not new.
A friend of mine always used to say
'HUMANS are PROGRAMMED to FAIL' and 'to SUCCEED, they must make SPECIAL EFFORTS'. Associates who do not believe in 'Seniors Plans' may not launch fully in the work (EGO?) or BEING LAZY (INERTIA) would NOT PARTICIPATE Wholeheartedly.
Thus
EGOIST is a Product Mix of Many a Factors and
A PERSISTENT BEHAVIOUR PATTERN of an Individual over a Period of Time (and not an isolated event), which Brings the Branding.
It was wonderful participating in the discussion, with opinions pouring in, and I could relate to many situations seen over 4 plus decades....
Regards
Dr Ulhas Ganu