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title: Abandon your ego
created: 2024-11-18T09:18:12
modified: 2026-02-05T07:51:24
---

> “Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.” — Bruce Lee

> “The main cause of our unhappiness is that we identify so strongly with the ego.” — Tenzin Palmo

> “More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them.” — Harold J. Smith

> “If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” — Epictetus

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[Ego 自我評價；自我中心；自負；自尊心](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/zht/%E8%A9%9E%E5%85%B8/%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E-%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E-%E7%B9%81%E9%AB%94/ego)

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≈ Expose your ego.

≈ Put your ego aside.

≈ Leave your ego at the door.

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多一點別人，少一點自己。

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“Me” is a disease.

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Ego is not your Amigo.

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Get small — Littleness — The sense of transcendence that makes us small

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面子是這個世界上最不值錢的東西。

* 有人為了愛面子，不願意與他人學習請教，失去了成長的機會。
* 有人為了愛面子，不願意與他人應對互動，失去了良好的人緣。
* 有人為了愛面子，把錢花在奢侈的物質上，失去了用錢的效率。

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One of the great mistakes in life is suffering for years because you didn’t want to feel foolish for five minutes.

* You don’t want to apologize, so you let a relationship deteriorate.
* You’re scared of the sting of rejection, so you don’t ask for what you want.
* You fear people will say your idea is dumb, so you never start the business.

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# [“Keep Your Identity Small” by Paul Graham](https://paulgraham.com/identity.html)

> Politics, like religion, is a topic where there’s no threshold of expertise for expressing an opinion. All you need is strong convictions/beliefs, and anyone can have those.

> I think what religion and politics have in common is that they become part of people’s identity, and people can never have a fruitful argument about something that’s part of their identity.

> So it’s not politics that’s the source of the trouble, but identity. When people say a discussion has degenerated into a religious war, what they really mean is that it has started to be driven mostly by people’s identities.

> The more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you.

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# [“I assume I’m below average” by Derek Sivers](https://sive.rs/below-average)

> Now I just assume I’m below average.

> It serves me well. I listen more. I ask a lot of questions. I’ve stopped thinking others are stupid. I assume most people are smarter than me.

> To assume you’re below average is to admit you’re still learning. You focus on what you need to improve, not your past accomplishments.

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# #TODO [David Foster Wallace’s Commencement Speech “This Is Water”](https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/) [^1]

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Not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.

> [“Thinking about yourself is the source of all unhappiness.” — Naval Ravikant](https://youtu.be/KyfUysrNaco)

> “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.” — Miyamoto Musashi

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[The Beginner Mindset](the-beginner-mindset.md)

[^1]: [The Speech That Changed How I See the World \| The Curiosity Chronicle](https://www.sahilbloom.com/newsletter/the-speech-that-changed-how-i-see-the-world)