Acharya Prashant explains the difference between ego and attitude. He defines ego as the internalization of an external statement about oneself. The ego says, "I am something," and that "something" comes from the outside. The moment you are something, there will be an attitude associated with that identity. To be something is an identity, and with every identity, there is an attitude. He illustrates this with an example: the moment you are an Indian, your attitude towards an India-Pakistan match will be that India must win. You will watch the match with an attitude. The moment you have an identity, an attitude comes along with it. Ego leads to attitude because the ego says, "I am something," and with that "something" comes a particular attitude. Further, he explains that if you have been told you are very hesitant and have a great fear of the podium, and you internalize this, it becomes a deep-seated belief. This identity of being hesitant or an introvert who doesn't like to socialize becomes part of the ego. The immediate result of this belief will be an attitude of avoidance towards situations like classes where you might be forced to speak. Your attitude will be to avoid or run away. The speaker concludes that with every statement of ego comes a statement of attitude, and these two are very closely linked. All aspects of our attitude come from a corresponding aspect of the ego. Therefore, whenever you detect a particular attitude in yourself, it is a good exercise to find the ego statement from which it is coming, as attitude is necessarily based upon the ego.
