How Inefficient Is Our Ego?

 

If we served others or embraced the role of a servant, we would be far more efficient!

Consider the story of the great Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires. One evening, she received a phone call asking her to perform Mozart’s Concerto K.466 the next day in Amsterdam—but she misunderstood and prepared K.488 instead, a completely different piece. When she arrived, the conductor informed her that she was expected to play K.488.

She protested, “I can’t do this; I’m not prepared!”

The conductor replied, “But you performed this concerto just a year ago…”

Overwhelmed, she nearly left the concert hall in distress. Yet when the performance began, she played the concerto absolutely flawlessly.

What happened?

I believe many of us have experienced this: a moment when internal resistance shatters, and we accomplish something previously thought impossible.

Key Lessons:

She surrendered her ego.

By admitting she couldn’t play the concerto well, she stopped resisting. In that moment, her subconscious—where the entire piece was stored—took over.

Repetition alone doesn’t guarantee mastery.

We often fail despite endless practice because pressure triggers self-sabotage. Forcing memorization is inefficient. Maria João Pires once said, “Repeating something mindlessly until I ‘learn’ it is pointless. I practice for 45 minutes, or twice that if I’m enjoying it. Without joy, I can’t retain anything.”

Overworking harms more than it helps—a fact backed by science.

She reconnected with joy.

Remembering the pleasure of playing certain passages made her eager to experience that joy again.

She played for Mozart, not perfection.

Focusing on honoring Mozart—rather than avoiding mistakes—freed her to perform effortlessly.

The Takeaway:

True mastery comes from releasing ego, embracing joy, and serving something greater than ourselves.

My Video: How Inefficient Is Our Ego? https://youtu.be/tamCW0FTETs

My Audio: https://divinesuccess.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/Podcast4/How-Inefficient-Is-Our-Ego.mp3