Dear Reader,

yesterday I got a check at work for results achieved during the year.

The sense of risk inside me lit up like wildfire! No, it was not the kind of threat regarding what my bosses could ask me to do after the reward.

It was the risk that my Ego got slightly out of balance for a while. How could I avoid that?

I improvised on the spot a strategy, with a strange requirement: saying aloud downsizing messages to myself, while avoiding sounding crazy at the same time.

Repeating good positive messages to ourselves is an excellent way to “program” our brains to act accordingly to our dearest principles and to keep our hubris in check. Doing that at the right time is another critical factor.

One of the best ways to say something without sounding strange is by saying that as a joke. You have three primary ways to lie: by telling a straight-face lie, by avoiding telling the truth, and by stating the facts in such an absurd way that it sounds utterly implausible. (“Hey son, what have you done yesterday night?” “Oh Daddy, same as usual: drinking my brains out of the Universe!” “You are always joking! Have a nice day son!”). Thanks to Robert A. Heinlein for the classification.

Here is an extract of the dialogue. Characters are B (the Boss), A (your favourite Author speaking aloud), P (what I was telling to my Psyche). Assume that A speaks in a joking tone:

B: “We have a high opinion of your work.”

A: “Oh well, I guess your opinion is your own problem!”

P: “Others’ people opinion does not represent you. You are now the same person that entered the door 5 minutes ago, nothing less nothing more.”

…

B: “It’s not much, but it is what we could do.”

A: “I entered the door having nothing, and I get out with something, that is good enough! Well, unless there is a minus sign in front of the sum!” (laughs)

P: “Gifts are temporary. Act as this never happened. Better yet, put the money aside, invest them, keep on saving and act as you were financially savvy.”

The “exercise in Stoicism” did not stop there, I had more to do. Still, I think it was a good start!

Until next time, remember: “Ego is the Enemy” (beautiful book, check it out!).