AB

I don't claim to be what I am not, but everything I know I am, I'm proud to be. They say ego is the enemy. I disagree. The ego is a projection of yourself into the world. It's how people see you & how they form their perception of you. Your ego is how you've presented yourself to whoever is watching, observing & forming a perspective about you. When people say you have a big ego, It's their way of telling you you have a high self-esteem which is way better than being accused of having low self-esteem. It's better to think too highly of yourself than think too little. In a world where truths & facts can be blurry. Perception is all that matters. Those who complain about it might have a low self-esteem of themselves & want you to come down to their level. They envy your ability & capacity to have such high regard & respect for yourself, a quality they clearly lack. In any case, it's better to be envied than pitied, which they'll feel for you if you don't have a good enough opinion of yourself. On some other days, they may be right. You just might be thinking too highly of yourself in certain situations. Observe where their criticisms are coming from & make changes if need be. Ultimately, never take advice from people you don't want to turn out like or succumb to pressure & opinions from people who have no quality you admire. The man who's self esteem is dependent on other people's respect & opinion is a slave even when he's a King in his home. He suffers from mental slavery cos he believes their opinions matters more than his reality thus he is boxed in by the weight of their expectations. It's funny how we love ourselves the most but care about the opinions of others even more. Self improvement is about taking a bet on yourself. What better way to do that by believing in the possibilities of your actions, you alone bear the consequences of your decisions. Stay strong, brother. SN: pay attention to criticism from your "enemies", they'll tell you more truths than those who claim to love you.