Leggo my EGO!

By Lori Hanson

I don’t often watch reality TV, but occasionally check it out because obviously millions of people are feeding on it. I understand that it’s a great way for a production company to save money by not having to write a full, well thought out script. But these shows wouldn’t be on if people weren’t watching them.

I’ve watched a couple episodes of Celebrity Apprentice this year. I am stunned by the amount of  negativity, drama and nastiness that goes on. Last week there was an issue when Gary Busey apparently referred to John Rich as “boy.” So John not only goes off on Gary, but then runs and plays tattle tale to the boss Donald Trump in the board room. And he didn’t just mention it, he went on and on about it.

Then there’s the backstabbing women. Lordy! the snipping and dissing that goes on between them? How old are we? The stuff that’s going on in this and other shows is nothing more than glamorized 6-year old behavior. And what really bothers me about it, is that apparently millions and millions of people think this is great entertainment and are soaking it in.

Why do you want to spend your time watching other people operating from ego (It’s all about me) and dramatizing everything about life that doesn’t go the way they want it to? There isn’t any real team work going on here, it’s just like fighting over the pail and shovel in the 6-year old sandbox.

Of course, if there was a real effort to create an environment of teamwork for the good of the charities they are there to raise money for. Would the show be as exciting? Why are people feeding on drama? Yeah, I guess that makes me old school. But what if, instead of coming from ego and how much smarter they are than the others. These people let go of ego and were authentic…real. What if when someone had the feeling the concept wasn’t going to work, instead of waiting till the board room to bring it up, they were all encouraged to discuss the project and agree on the best approach? I know, I’m wasting my time trying to suggest that a reality tv show have some value. But let’s take this back to everyday life.

By watching shows where people are acting out of ego and talking behind people’s backs all the time your subconscious (which acts on images) will start to think this is acceptable behavior. Of course, it’s entirely possible that you already act this way–but I sure hope not.

My other issue with reality tv is that it’s teaching our children that life is a competition.  And that winning means everyone else fails. I don’t think that’s the message we want to send!

Maybe part of why this annoys me so much is that it is similar to behavior I saw every day working in the corporate world. The work environment isn’t always what it seems because there is always politics involved. But this is what we are taught when we enter the workplace. It’s how you survive, right?

Life is about teamwork. Life is about helping each other. Life is about being real, honest and doing things you can be proud of. Whether working on the family team or work team you can solve problems (aka opportunities) more quickly because everyone is part of the team. Life is up and down and part of the team role should be to support each other. Do we needs roles on our teams? Absolutely. We need to let people fill roles that fit their innate gifts and talents. But having open discussions and getting everyone’s input makes for a much more cohesive team. In the end we are all here to learn how to love unconditionally.

Life is like the ocean, it will ebb and flow. And you’ll be much happier when you decide to let your ego go and start living from your heart.

Want to leggo your EGO? Get help now.

©2011