Ego boost

Ego is an interesting thing – it can drive our actions. It can give us the confidence to achieve our dreams. It can be the pride of our own inner soul. That’s the good kind of ego.

The other type of ego is the not-so-good type. This is the type that makes some people think they’re more important than others. The type that makes some people believe their voice is the only voice. The type that seems to go hand in hand with, well, a kind of state-of-mind that apsychiatrist would probably have a field day with!

have had some very interesting interactions with egos recently – and have taken great strength from the old saying, “give them enough rope and they’ll hang themselves”.  

Here’s just one example. You may remember my column from last month (because you might have read it and giggled, not because my ego says it was so great you’d never be able to forget it!).

Well, in case you don’t remember, it was about the fact that I was booted off a TV show on house renovations because I wouldn’t do my renovation the way the “experts” suggested. Given it was my house, my design and my money, I kind of felt like I had a right to my own voice.

Anyway, a current affair-type show aired the disasters that the TV show “renovated” – shame, shame, shame on the “expert”.

Perhaps her ego became too self-serving, and her interest was more in being “famous” than actually making sure she was still doing the things that got her to be the “expert” in the first place. Anyway, if you’re thinking of doing a renovations course, you might want to check out the story first.

Then there’s the even worse type of personalities – the ones that actually enjoy throwing their perceived power around.

I have just hung up the phone from a very unpleasant property manager who is definitely not quite right in the head. Her inspection report of the property I leased whilst renovating my burnt-down house, reads as though I was the tenant from hell. And whilst I may have been accused of being a hell-raiser in the past, nothing was further from the truth at this property!

Not even a picture hook went up on a wall. However she took great pleasure in telling me how she had made the last people at inspection cry, how she had a family replace the carpet of all four rooms despite their legal threats, how she is proud she takes two and a half hours to inspect a property. What the?

Yep, I got called back, for the third time, because she’d found cobwebs on the back fence – we live in rural reclaimed land by the way – and there was a scratch on the inside of the built-in robe door so the whole thing needed re-painting. Oh, and there was a small ding in the front of the garage door, only if you looked at a certain angle, so I’d need to replace the entire door. And the removalists truck dug a little bit of ground up in moving – solution? I’m to re-turf.

Talk about someone taking their moment, their one solitary point of having any power, and enjoying telling you what to do. Clearly, this is the only point in her life that anyone is listening to her – when she’s holding your bond!

So do yourself a favour and, in this world of heavily spruiked up property “experts” and professionals, do some research and see what stress and unbelievable egos are involved with anything you’re about to do business with. If they are anything like my last two encounters – run away!

Egos are part of who we are. They are the voice that believes in us and drives us to be the best we can be. Unfortunately, we see so many people using their power, or ego, in the wrong way. Ego doesn’t have to be a dirty word. Maybe this month, we could all check the way we are behaving with others, and just make sure we’re putting things in place for the right reasons. 

Have a great month.

Abby x

P.S. feel free to email me with any questions!