The Price of Ego, Quarrels, Distractions

"If someone succeeds in provoking you, realise that your mind is complicit in the provocation."
— Epictetus

I’ve wasted precious hours in unnecessary quarrels.

It’s easy to get off course, to let ego pull us away from what truly matters. And in the past, I’ve allowed this to happen more times than I’d like to admit.

Looking back, I can see how pointless those arguments were. If I had kept my goals in sight, I would have understood how meaningless those conflicts would prove to be. Every moment spent on negativity was a moment stolen from my growth.

But if there’s one thing I can learn from my past mistakes, it’s this: my energy is better spent on self-improvement, not on proving a point to others.

Rising Above

If my journey toward discipline and self-mastery makes me appear weak or cowardly in the eyes of others, so be it. The truth is, the real strength lies in restraint – in taming our destructive ego. If, for just one year, I channel my emotions, control my anger, and focus solely on my core, result-oriented work, I could achieve remarkable progress.

I now understand the futility of ego. I see how draining and counterproductive it is to engage in meaningless disputes. And I know that every second I spend defending myself or lamenting the wrongs done to me is a second I could have invested in something far more valuable — my growth.

A New Way to Vent Out

"He who is able to withstand the force of desire and anger even before giving up the body is a true yogi; he is a happy man."
— Bhagavad Gita (5.23)

There’s no need to respond to negativity in the way I do: by igniting heated arguments or feeling frustrated on feeling unavenged. Also, no need to dwell on the unfairness of past events. My only job is to focus on my work, to keep moving forward, and to give my best efforts — regardless of the noise around me.

Of course, there will be times when holding back my emotions would feel impossible. When frustration and anger would demand an outlet. But instead of letting them control me, I can do myself a great service by channelling that energy into my work.

I can write with more intensity. Speak with more conviction. Push myself with more confidence and discipline.

Turning Pain into Power

Pain, if used wisely, can be a powerful fuel. Instead of getting caught up in bitter controversies, I can transform setbacks into motivation. Instead of beating myself up over past mistakes, I can redirect that energy into pushing harder.

Because at the end of the day, success is the best response to every challenge. Not words. Not arguments. Not regrets.

Just relentless progress.

And that’s exactly where my focus needs to be.

Final Reflection

How often do you feel your ego dragging you down into controversies only to heap you up with regret afterwards? Are you going to respond to bitterness in a different way? If you had avoided those controversies, would it have been beneficial for your growth?

Reflecting on these questions could change the trajectory of your life.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A truly eyewatering advice from Lord Buddha for joy

Image
“Your worst enemy cannot harm you As much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, No one can help you as much, Not even your father or your mother.” Lord Buddha A simple thing that can turn us highly productive is that we must train ourselves to guard our thoughts. If every moment we’re guarding our thoughts optimally, if every moment we’re true in doing justice with our cognitive capabilities and blessings, the success we dream about isn’t going to evade us for that long. The problem with us is that we’re lazy, rest-loving folks, and doing justice with our blessings is no easy feat. This is because we have entangled ourselves in bad, unproductive thoughts, and therefore we find ourselves backing out when it comes to using our blessings optimally. The ugly truth is that we have chained ourselves in clutter and frivolity: The clothes we want to wear at the party Why is she hanging around with that guy so often…is there a romantic story brewing up? He never ...
Read more

6 astonishing tips to wake you up fresh and energetic

Image
For quite some time, and especially after my mother whispered goodbye to this fleeting world, I’m having difficulty waking up fresh and energetic. Yes, you might say that waking up with that cloggy feeling in mornings is pretty general, but if due to them your normal work is skidding off the rails? The alarm bells begin to ring, bang, pound. And if you snooze, you lose. You have to wake up. Well, first joining a gym and racking my bones to the point of cracking appeared clever. I reasoned that this way I’ll fall asleep as I threw myself on the bed. Good idea? But this required a heck lot of time and effort. Going to and from gym, managing office and personal work – all this appeared a little beyond the time and energy at my disposal. (Additionally, I hate sad and crappy music played in these places. Isn’t it true that all that we expose ourselves to – knowingly or unknowingly – has a bearing on our thinking?) Second I thought of purchasing some physical exercising ma...
Read more

What I got by hanging myself on the cliff of death

I gripped the glossy parapet and climbed up to hang on the other side which opened into a fear-provoking gorge – running hundreds of feet deep. Down on the slanting grass-carpeted hills, trees crookedly grew from different places as if telling that they’re stubborn and can grow up from anywhere. Had I slipped from such a blood-tingling height, my bones would have scattered in 40 different places. Whew! I was in the beautiful Nainital, at a mountain peak inside a shade where other tourists too were making picnic in the pure mountain air. Chatting with each other, they crushed fuming coffee and munched snacks, while some took pictures and played all around. And birds, white and red and green, some big and some small, flew and chirped beneath the sheets of clouds in the wide blue sky. Anyway, back to my foolishness: I was in my teenage then. I kept myself on the cliff of death because I fancied myself a Bollywood hero – a risk-lover. I wanted to signa...
Read more