The difference between egotism and self respect is a fine one. Often we don't understand which of these our behaviour and thoughts fall under.
The Oxford English dictionary gives two very similar definitions for ego and self respect.
Ego: a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.
Self-respect: pride and confidence in oneself; a feeling that one is behaving with honour and dignity.
The two definitions are very similar and this left me wondering; where is that line in the sand the separates egotism from self respect?
I came across an interesting way of separating them on a blog (http://virajgupta.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/ego-versus-self-respect.html) which describes the difference as such:
"You need others to satisfy your ego, which is not the case with self respect. You can be a person of high self respect without forming a coterie around you."
Viraj states that egotism relies entirely on external factors which are not in our control whereas self respect is much more an internal affair which only us as individuals can determine.
Another definition I came across was that egotism is an inflated sense of pride in ones superiority over others whereas self-respect is the quality of being worthy of esteem.
Another way of thinking about this could be that egotism is an inflated sense of self-respect which is used to exact superiority over others.
I began thinking about this whilst reading Poojaniya Doctorji's biography entitled,"Dr Hedgewar The Epoch-Maker".
In Doctorji's early childhood the author narrates a section of Doctorji's life where young Keshav Hedgewar's parents died whilst Keshav was only 13. Keshav was forced to complete all of the household duties in addition to his school work. His eldest brother, Mahadev Shastri, began to live an indisciplined and loose life. After a while his other brother, Seetaram Panth, left the household to go to Indore to pursue Vedic studies, and Keshav was left to provide for the household. Often he would go without food for days on end. However he would not accept food from his friends even when his hunger became extreme. The author of the biography describes this as self-respect.
Is this Doctorji having self-respect or is this egotism? This is where the line is very fine between self-respect and egotism. How do we define Keshav's actions, after all it takes a lot of strength to accept food from others.
Personally, I believe that this shows a tremendous amount of self-respect. I don't believe that this shows egotism as the quality Keshav shows in this example involves external factors but does not rely up on external factors, and does not rely upon him exerting any superiority upon others.
There is much to learn from this example of Doctorji, and it got me thinking. Have there been times when I have been egotistical whilst confusing it with self-respect? Honestly, there have been many times, however reading Doctorji's biography got me thinking about this, and the first step towards removing egotistical characteristics is defining the fine line between ego and self-respect and the secondly introspection.
Introspection is key in improving one's character and in order to introspect I believe there is a need to meditate and free ourselves from the "outside world" even for a short period of time. As part of SIP we are required to do a minimum of 10 minutes of meditation in the morning and evening, and although at the start I was a bit apprehensive about the need to meditate, now I believe that it is the most important part of the day and will be a practice that I shall carry on through SIP and beyond SIP as well.
The Oxford English dictionary gives two very similar definitions for ego and self respect.
Ego: a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.
Self-respect: pride and confidence in oneself; a feeling that one is behaving with honour and dignity.
The two definitions are very similar and this left me wondering; where is that line in the sand the separates egotism from self respect?
I came across an interesting way of separating them on a blog (http://virajgupta.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/ego-versus-self-respect.html) which describes the difference as such:
"You need others to satisfy your ego, which is not the case with self respect. You can be a person of high self respect without forming a coterie around you."
Viraj states that egotism relies entirely on external factors which are not in our control whereas self respect is much more an internal affair which only us as individuals can determine.
Another definition I came across was that egotism is an inflated sense of pride in ones superiority over others whereas self-respect is the quality of being worthy of esteem.
Another way of thinking about this could be that egotism is an inflated sense of self-respect which is used to exact superiority over others.
I began thinking about this whilst reading Poojaniya Doctorji's biography entitled,"Dr Hedgewar The Epoch-Maker".
In Doctorji's early childhood the author narrates a section of Doctorji's life where young Keshav Hedgewar's parents died whilst Keshav was only 13. Keshav was forced to complete all of the household duties in addition to his school work. His eldest brother, Mahadev Shastri, began to live an indisciplined and loose life. After a while his other brother, Seetaram Panth, left the household to go to Indore to pursue Vedic studies, and Keshav was left to provide for the household. Often he would go without food for days on end. However he would not accept food from his friends even when his hunger became extreme. The author of the biography describes this as self-respect.
Is this Doctorji having self-respect or is this egotism? This is where the line is very fine between self-respect and egotism. How do we define Keshav's actions, after all it takes a lot of strength to accept food from others.
Personally, I believe that this shows a tremendous amount of self-respect. I don't believe that this shows egotism as the quality Keshav shows in this example involves external factors but does not rely up on external factors, and does not rely upon him exerting any superiority upon others.
There is much to learn from this example of Doctorji, and it got me thinking. Have there been times when I have been egotistical whilst confusing it with self-respect? Honestly, there have been many times, however reading Doctorji's biography got me thinking about this, and the first step towards removing egotistical characteristics is defining the fine line between ego and self-respect and the secondly introspection.
Introspection is key in improving one's character and in order to introspect I believe there is a need to meditate and free ourselves from the "outside world" even for a short period of time. As part of SIP we are required to do a minimum of 10 minutes of meditation in the morning and evening, and although at the start I was a bit apprehensive about the need to meditate, now I believe that it is the most important part of the day and will be a practice that I shall carry on through SIP and beyond SIP as well.
“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of
mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what
hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.”
Gautama Buddha
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