Today, I’m thankful for those who remind us to keep our egos in check.
Sigmund Freud taught us that we all have an ego – our own sense of self-worth or self-esteem. A healthy ego is essential in ensuring we follow societal rules, remain grounded in ethics, and strive to do our best in our careers. In fact, psychologists surmise that a healthy body-mind relationship requires that we act in own self-interest and interpret events from our own personal vantage point. In fact, a healthy ego helps us to maintain our own self-reflected view, in the context of the larger world around us, in a manner that can be beneficial for all.
However, when unchecked, an overblown ego can lead us to believe we are indispensible, larger than the broader mission, and even the center of the universe. When we value ourselves more favorably than is objectively warranted, we get self-absorbed, lack empathy for others, and ultimately make decisions detrimental to the greater whole. Such thinking in our daily lives can even turn out to be dangerous.
Examples of overinflated estimations of one’s own self worth are everywhere around us. I can simply point to Hideki Tojo and Matt Lauer, who are both celebrating birthdays on this day (Dec 30), to prove my point.
By the time Hideki Tojo had risen to power to assume the role as the Prime Minister of Japan in 1941, he was an instrumental figure in the Axis power’s conquest of the Asia-Pacific theater. As one military victory followed another, Tojo became increasingly inflicted with “victory disease”, which further boosted the legitimacy and supremacy of Japanese Imperialism. So, Tojo brazenly authorized the attack on America’s Pearl Harbor later that year, only to painstakingly realize he has awoken a ‘sleeping giant.’ In short order, his consecutive winning streak came to an end with defeats at Midway, Tarawa, and Guadalcanal. He was forced to resign in 1944 and eventually captured and hanged for his atrocities.
Similarly, Matt Lauer is another cautionary tale of the potential hazards of an overblown ego. During a more than 25-year career, Lauer climbed the corporate ladder at the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), eventually earning the role as the co-host on the NBC Today show. With a salary close to $20 million a year, Lauer began to sense his invincibility in show business. The morning program even featured a segment, Where is Matt Lauer Now?, in which he spanned the globe on high-flying adventures, much to the viewers’ delight. All was well until reports began to surface that he had sexually harassed another female NBC employee, as Lauer believed he could control her professional career in exchange for sexual favors. As others came forth against Lauer with similar allegations, he was fired from his position. Lauer has now basically gone into hiding, leaving many to ask: Where is Matt Lauer now?
These are just two fitting examples of overblown egos. I could have also called upon sports icons like Tiger Woods and Lebron James, who also celebrate birthdays on this day. Tiger’s sense of invincibility led to repeated extramarital affairs that have marred his illustrious golf career. Lebron James may be one of the most selfless and altruistic players ever to play the game of professional basketball, but his egotistical ‘Decision’ to air his impending move to South Beach and the Miami Heat in 2010 has been nothing but fodder for all the ‘Lebron haters’ out there.
If you come to think of it, our lives are relatively miniscule in the context of the vast space in which we live. I’m grateful for those who remind us to remain humble in our daily pursuits, with a full recognition that even the mighty can fall from grace. Fortunately, on this day (Dec 30) in 1924, the astronomer Edwin Hubble kept all our egos in check when he announced that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was not alone. Through the use of the Hooker telescope, this lawyer-turned-astronomer confirmed the presence of the Andromeda Galaxy, which he estimated was some 900,000 light years away from our own galaxy. He proved that our solar system was not the center of the universe, and our wonderful sun, in all its glory, was a relatively unimportant star in the broader cosmos. His revolutionary work served as the basis of the Hubble Sequence, a classification system to chronicle the existence of novel galaxies in our universe. We still use the Hubble Sequence to see how large our universe really is.
Hubble was also instrumental in proving to scientists around the world that the universe was indeed not static, but rather expanding slowly over time at a rather linear rate. In essence, he confirmed the principle that all these galaxies probably emanated from a central point of origin, leading many to accept the Big Bang Theory. The world honored the Hubble name with the first optical telescope ever released into space. Since its initial launch 30 years ago from the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Hubble Telescope has continued to offer us observations as to how small we really are – it’s the perfect antidote to an overinflated ego.
Sometimes, in life, we need subtle reminders as to just how minuscule we really are. I’m appreciative knowing I’m really nothing more than a ‘tiny speck’ in an enormous universe. Although humbling at times, we all need to be brought down to earth once in a while. My gratitude goes out to Edwin Hubble for reminding us the universe does not rotate around the sun, let alone any one of us.
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