Difference between ego and attitude
“I AM THE KING! EVERYONE IS MY SLAVE”
The above quote is very dominant in nature, isn’t it?
Well don’t read the quote as a whole. Read it in parts and then we will be able to set the difference between attitude and ego.
In the above phrase, attitude is “I am the King!” which helps you to see yourself as you are. It helps to know you and define yourself. It states your positive approach towards you that may help you to over problems and situations of less self-confidence and self-belief.
While the latter part of the phrase “Everyone is my slave” shows ego. Ego is nothing but your approach to others being below or inferior to you. Now you will say that saying “I am the King” also tends to be superior to others, so how come it is not ego. “I am the king” states that you are superior to others but it doesn’t state that others are inferior to you. Felling yourself a King or a superior person is not a problem but feeling others are inferior to you is what takes you towards ego.
As per the bookish definition, ego is “a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.” and attitude is “a settled way of thinking or feeling about something.” Ego refers to the “I” feeling, which makes you feel bigger compared to real YOU. It has many forms, you are not your true self when egoistic. Attitude is a temporary state of mind due to some circumstances, the frame of mind etc.
Ego separates you from others and attitude makes you (your thinking/approach) unique from others. Ego is you defining yourself and attitude is you defining some situation or circumstances as per your own attitude towards it may be positive or negative.
If you hurt someone’s ego he/she will be mad at you while if you have a problem with someone’s attitude, then the person will not even bother about it as it is his own choice of thinking and approach. Ego takes you nowhere while attitude if positive takes you to a better place in life.
A clear difference between ego and attitude can be understood as attitude is “I can do it!” and ego is “Only I can do it!” It segregates attitude and ego very precisely.
With attitude comes peace of mind, love, care, compassion from/towards right people and more optimized and positive approach towards life.
With ego comes loneliness, hatred, unloved, self-admiration, and a negative way of life.
Attitude is your shield. Ego is a double-edged sword.
See there is a very thin line between both of them and I personally state attitude and ego as follow
“Attitude is one step away from Ego and Ego is one step beyond attitude.”
When your attitude goes beyond a level it becomes ego. For example, if you have an attitude towards people that all they can do it comment on others (you) and you ignore some genuine feedback about you from close one due to this attitude then it turns into an ego. An ego which origin from a right attitude but as you was not able to change that attitude for your close ones it becomes ego.
