We donโt just have opinions.
We have a constant, often subtle need to be right.
And it shows up everywhere.
In organizations, leadership teams, social debates, even in spaces that claim awareness. And yes, here on LinkedIn.
There is a lot of subtle righteousness.
Sometimes it moves ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด:
toward leaders, elites, those โat the topโ - seen as power-blind or out of touch.
Sometimes ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด:
toward โthe masses,โ employees, the less educated - seen as reactive or not aware enough.
Different directions. Same mechanism.
Psychology is clear: the ego is an ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐. It maintains coherence by contrasting itself with others.
We feel right because others seem wrong.
Aware because others seem unconscious.
Neuroscience adds: the brain defends its self-image. Biases like confirmation bias or moral superiority are default settings - not exceptions. Intelligence or spiritual practice rarely remove them. They often just refine them.
There are always perspectives and identities.
And there is something deeper beyond them.
Some never touch it.
Some do - and turn it into a more subtle identity.
Thatโs where it gets tricky.
The ego doesnโt disappear when seen.
It becomes more sophisticated - speaking the language of insight, values, even humility.
โIโm beyond egoโ is often one of its most elegant forms.
I see this in leadership, in โconsciousโ spaces - and in myself.
The signal is subtle:
when clarity turns into distance,
understanding into condescension,
care into instruction instead of curiosity.
Then something has tightened.
So the question is less:
Who is right?
More:
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐?
Which identity - and against whom?
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ซ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ซ๐?
Not ego-destruction. Not inflation through โhigherโ identities.
But:
1. Meta-awareness
- noticing the moment you feel certain, right, or morally clearโฆ and creating a pause before acting from it
2. Seeing superiority and inferiority as the same move
- whether you feel above or below someone, the ego is stabilizing itself through comparison
3. Returning to direct experience
- instead of fueling the story, sense what is happening in your body (tension, contraction, urgency)
4. Holding perspectives more lightly
- staying able to question your own view without collapsing it
5. Distrusting the feeling of โIโve got itโ
- development usually stops exactly where certainty begins
For me, one question remains essential:
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐?
Without that, even refined thinking becomes another form of domination - upward, downward, or sideways.
And yes, this pattern is everywhere.
Including here.
Including me.