Self and Ego

Lately I have been thinking about what is Self and what is Ego.  They are two different words with similar meaning.  Yet, good ole Webster's seems to see them as different and so did I.   I have been internally working through some things lately on a personal level, and I was trying to figure out if it was my Self doing the talking in my head or my Ego.  I asked around, in a sort of secrete pole, and got interpretations all over the place.  Some people said they were the same thing.  Others said they needed to be separated.  While the majority fell someplace in the middle.  

Before kids I used to see most things in black and white.  Now after having kids I see most things in gray.  It really depends on your circumstance, morals, beliefs, time and place.  I now see rules, procedures, policies etc..., more as guidelines or goals.  People really need to be addressed as individuals and not groups, statistics, majorities or minorities.  As a society we are always trying to put people in boxes or assign/attach labels to them.  Well frankly that's bunk.  What's good for one is not always appropriate for all.  We are all different people and all of our own one self.  

So this brings me back to my question, that no one can give me (personally) a satisfactory answer to.  Finally after some more time, thought and discussion I realized why.  We all operate on our own free will, and our own thoughts, so therefore we can get input or guidance, but for this to have personal meaning that makes sense to me, has to come from within me.  It has to come from my situation, experience, knowledge base and personal belief system.  This is a conclusion I had to draw on my own, and one that will probably change as I grow, evolve and change in the avenues of my personal being.  

Now I can go on and on about the meanings of self and ego and how I differentiate between the two, but that would be pointless because to you it will not have the exact same meaning as it does to me and therefore would be a waste of every one's time.  However, if you are like me you want to know what conclusions I drew. So here is a brief summary…

Self and Ego may be two different words, but they cannot totally be separate.  We cannot have one without the other.  Our ego is like the impulsive immature child in all of us, that propels our self forward.  Our egos, desire reinforcement, essentially they need to be stroked from time to time.  Our ego best serves us when reinforced in a positive way that keeps it in line and functioning to move our self forward.  This can be done by others or by our own self thanking our ego’s when they have served us well.  Ego not properly reinforced, can easily take over and that is when problems arise.  Our self is like the wiser, seasoned teacher, keeping the ego in line.  Our self needs our ego for the ideas and inspiration to move us forward, but our self is the one that takes us through the steps, and makes us do the hard work to get us to where we are heading. Our self, desires reward too, but for self the reward can come from within its self.