The ego operates in many ways; it can make us believe we are superior to others, thereby creating the belief that we are the best and that everyone else is nothing, or it can make us believe we are worthless, that we cannot move forward; it can lead us to self-sabotage and even to thinking we are unsuitable for this or that task. The ego is that voice in our head that wants to tell us who we are, but in reality, that is known in the heart.
Sometimes I say that people shouldn’t have a head, in the sense that it often seems like a bird that constantly pecks away, saying things that aren’t true; it stresses us out, creates fear, blocks us, or, conversely, tells us that we are the best and others are inferior. The ego can destroy lives, creates division between human beings and can even kill.
The ego is a very dangerous weapon and stems from the mind. In contrast, the heart is the wisest thing in the world; that is where purity and truth reside. Often the two come into conflict; the problem is which one we let win.
For a long time, until I was about 35, the ego ran my life—an ego that had fed on beliefs that were destroying me. Everything is very difficult, everything is complicated; there were things I would never achieve, beliefs of scarcity, an ego formed before I was even born, passed on and then shaped during childhood.
An ego that said anyone with money must surely have cheated or done something wrong. So what does the mind say? To be good, you have to be poor. That’s how it works. There are many things, more than 90 per cent, that are unconscious; we don’t think about them; they stem from things we’ve heard repeated, traumas, and much more.
That nagging voice in my head, even unconsciously, told me that things were difficult to achieve or that if I followed a certain path I would fail; that governed my life, from the simplest things to the biggest. I myself, and no one else but me, was sabotaging myself. Until I learnt how to break free from that.
I was a very good student, excellent; I lived to study. It was my duty, it was what I had to do, and I did it well, but with a great deal of effort, because the way I learnt was to memorise and memorise, even though I was better at making connections between things. But at school, the method was memorisation and more memorisation: saying and repeating things exactly as they were in a book, and there was no room for creativity. So studying was a terrible struggle for me.
Repeating and repeating until the content stuck in my head. Later I learnt that doesn’t work and that way everything is forgotten in no time. The same thing happened to me at university. Studying was a struggle, because I think the method was wrong, at least for me. But my ego told me it had to be that way and I had to do it that way, even if it destroyed me.
I had excellent grades; in fact, my average over the five years of secondary school was 9.48. And you might wonder… why it wasn’t 10. Because of one subject, and many of you will surely laugh. I came to hate that subject.
When the appointed hour came, I’d dig my nails into the chair, feeling a terrible fear. I’d learn everything by heart, and that didn’t help, but I didn’t know how to learn that subject; everyone taught me in the same way. And I couldn’t understand it, to the point that it traumatised me. I passed that subject with the minimum mark, which was a 7, but I never managed to get past that, and I only reached a 7 with an enormous amount of effort, an excessive amount of effort. The subject was English. Yes, English.
So those five years were pure torture, and the problem was the teaching method, but I didn’t realise that at the time. It created a total mental block for me, and every time I tried to learn it, I only managed to get through a few sentences. I wanted to make sense of it and couldn’t, and my ego told me… you can’t, it’s difficult, you can’t and you won’t be able to because it’s difficult.
I recently found a new method that I think might suit me; I’ll try again, but this time, I know it will work because I’ve changed; it’s up to me and only me to remove this mental block or trauma. My ego has never done me any good, never.
But I’d like to tell you which subjects I was really good at. In all the others, I got top marks or nearly top marks. In subjects like maths, physics and chemistry, I got top marks, but only through a lot of practice. On the other hand, in subjects like logic, psychology, history, literature, biology and art, I got top marks because I was passionate about them. I enjoyed them; in art, I even helped all my classmates. And I was a huge fan of logic and reasoning exercises.
In fact, when I took the career aptitude test, I scored 80% for reasoning-based courses, 80% for art, and just 1% for exact sciences like engineering, for example. That surprised me, but the arts and humanities were ideal for me.
These topics have taken me on quite a journey down memory lane, and going back to those years and remembering myself in the classroom at that fateful moment gave me goosebumps. But it’s good to share experiences; perhaps it might help someone. Thank you @galenkp for that.
Thank you all so much for joining me today; I wish you all a wonderful weekend. See you soon.
Amonet.
Used translator Deepl.com free version.
Good morning, dear friend @avdesing.
The human mind is truly powerful, and it can lead us to do the most unexpected things.
If I had to guess, which subject did you struggle with? I couldn't have. I never imagined you had trouble learning English; however, it doesn't surprise me to learn that you excel in these subjects: logic, psychology, history, literature, biology, and art.
Thank you so much for sharing these experiences.
Have a wonderful Saturday.
English is a subject that needs to be taught differently, and that method was torture – it made me hate it. But I know I can handle it. Thanks, Luis!
Good morning,
Ego is the subject with the highest failure rate.
I’m already starting my day here.
I couldn't agree more! Long live the heart! Good morning, from a nurse here, ha ha ha
🤓
Deseo que todo vaya bien.
¡Saludos!
Have a brilliant day!!!🤗
Hello, Amonet.
I'm so sorry for what you had to go through all those years; thinking that way certainly wasn't doing you any good. It's wonderful that you learned how to change your ways. You're an admirable person, very intelligent.
My grandfather always advises me not to memorize. Nor should I study just to get top marks; he says that we have to learn by reasoning, because studying is what will allow me to connect with others throughout my life.
Have a wonderful day.
There are lots of things in life that aren’t much use, but if you want to travel, for example, you need English – that’s my goal… to travel, and I need it, ha ha ha
Memorising things isn’t much use, because you end up forgetting them. Making connections is the best way, and it gives your brain a better workout too. Thanks, Abi!
Wow, this is the most inspiring,brilliant and encouraging message I have read this week. I most confess, I'm a victim of all this and am trying to escape from this mindcage for a long time now. Thank you @avdesing for sharing this wonderful message.
I really have a great and wonderful weekend..
Thank you!!🤗
If we didn’t overthink things, it would save us a lot of trouble, because we make life difficult for ourselves by dwelling on things that are only in our heads.
Silvio Rodríguez has a song called ‘Venga la esperanza’ which, in one part, goes:
‘Having isn’t a sign of wickedness, nor is not having a mark of virtue. And that ties in nicely with what you had in mind about whether the poor are good or the opposite. We think about that a lot, and it’s your actions that define you.
I really liked the post because you also link it to the first topic suggested by @galenkp, and I think that’s brilliant.
In my case, I loved Natural Sciences, PE, Maths, Literature and History. I didn’t like Spanish.
My study method was based on analysing, making connections and reaching conclusions. But memorisation was also a big part of it.
Incidentally, Félix Varela once said: "Learning by heart is the greatest of absurdities, for when it fails, memory fails entirely."
Thank you for sharing.
Happy Sunday. Best wishes and regards.
You’re absolutely right – learning things by heart isn’t useful for the future. I didn’t realise that when I was younger, but I do now. I love making connections; they just seem to pop into my head all by themselves. Thank you very much!
Very intelligent and inspiring post, love it!
Thank you!🤗
Than you so so much @indiaunited and @steemflow!!!💗💗💗