“Here we are at the top of a mountain we worked hard to climb – or at least the summit is in sight. Now we face new temptations and problems. We breathe thinner air in an unforgiving environment. Why is success so ephemeral? Ego shortens it.
Whether a collapse is dramatic or a slow erosion, it’s always possible and often unnecessary. We stop learning, we stop listening, and we lose our grasp on what matters. We become victims of ourselves and the competition. Sobriety, open-mindedness, organisation, and purpose – these are the great stabilisers. They balance out the ego and pride that comes with achievement and recognition.”
This is one such passage from Ryan Holiday’s Ego Is The Enemy, a book that details all the pitfalls and dangers of believing in our own bullshit and thinking we have everything figured out. Packed full of real-world examples of people who fought against their ego and who let it consume them, Ego Is The Enemy is a fantastic book to read.