Ego does not allow people to cultivate an honest and realistic assessment of their own abilities.
Analysis
There is nothing more valuable than being able to evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses with a sober and impartial eye. Of course, confidence is crucial to success. But confidence, unlike ego, is based in fact and reality. The ego masks what’s real. Confidence allows for self-criticism in healthy doses while ego does not allow for any. Self-criticism can be crippling for some people, preventing them from ever taking a risk. But without any self-criticism, individuals will be overcome by ego and incapable of performing a genuine assessment of their own skills.
Imposter syndrome is in some ways the opposite of an inflated ego. It is a phenomenon of self-criticism that leads high-achieving people to believe that they have reached their success in error. [5] While certainly painful for those experiencing it, imposter syndrome may be part of what helped these achievers reach success in the first place. Because these people believe that they do not deserve their success, they may be more likely to increase their efforts to sustain it, while those who believe they are entitled to their accomplishments might be less motivated to forge ahead and hone their craft.
In recent decades, encouraging self-esteem became a major part of the American way of educating and parenting children. However, it can lead to an inflated sense of worth and entitlement. Recently, some in the American education system have begun to reverse course regarding the emphasis schools place on self-esteem in a child’s education. Researchers found that students who are frequently praised tend to avoid more challenging assignments where they would risk failure. [6] Education experts are likewise beginning to speak out against the culture of over-praising children as it seems to be damaging their innate abilities to assess their skills. Former Washington, DC, schools chancellor Michelle Rhee famously courted controversy when saying that her daughters “suck at soccer” and yet remain complacent with their skills in the sport thanks to the meaningless trophies they are given just for participating. [7] Although she faced backlash for her comments, her point was to demonstrate that the American education system is more focused on praise than on skill development.