The Shattered Ego

Prose fiction

· Short Story Fiction

 

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
– Harry S. Truman

 

The ego approaches its self-constructed throne of supremacy, and sits down on its chair of pride and arrogance.

It demands and commands its way. When challenged with resistance, it’s knocked off its pedestal of superiority and self-entitlement.

It reacts erratically and frantically. It implodes — nursing its wounded, fragile self. It then — explodes into an intense rage fueled by its rejection-induced trauma.

And, just like cracked glass, it shatters into many pieces, and it sits until the broken pieces are collected and repaired. It sheepishly covers its face, walks down the hall of shame, and licks its wounds, while processing the trauma.

The floor below violently shakes as the earthquake of its destruction begins to eradicate its secure foundation of superiority.

The ego waits patiently for the opportunity to prove that the world belongs to it alone and the rest of us are just visiting. It is delusional and oblivious to reality; therefore, it can’t make changes because it can’t discern right from wrong.

Finally, the ego’s demise ultimately strips away the overconfidence it had by “throwing its weight around” to accomplish its self-serving agenda. It then collapses into a vulnerable shell of a person —traumatized, wounded, and disoriented.

It presents a facade and a protective bubble to insulate itself from personal accountability. And, it never relinquishes its need to be the shiniest object in the room, the shot-caller, the self-appointed “top-dog” and promoted showrunner.

And, for these reasons, it will unfortunately and forever be The Shattered Ego.