Ego vs Soul — A Few Tips on How to Tell the Difference

“Your soul is here for its own joy.”

– Rumi

“I have a question for you,” I said to my life coach, Rob, a few weeks ago.

“Let’s hear it…”

“At any given time, how do I know whether it’s my soul guiding me,” I asked, “or my ego pushing me?”

“That,” he replied, “is an excellent question!”

“Good,” I said, “because I’m having a heck of a time trying to manage all the tasks that need to get done in a day…or rather, that I think need to get done in a day. I’m really good at prioritizing and getting the most important work done first. But when I start to get tired, I’m not sure whether the little voice pushing me to do more is my soul encouraging me to reach my highest potential…or my bullheaded ego trying to turn me into a productivity machine.”

After a chuckle, here was the gist of Rob’s answer:

“The ego loves to use the word ‘should.’”

If you hear yourself using the term ‘should’ and/or ‘not enough,’ chances are good that’s your ego trying to run the show.

“Whereas if you feel excited and enthusiastic about getting started on (or continuing working on) a project or tackling a task, that is likely…