title: The life mission theory II. The structure of the life purpose and the ego.
abstract: Pursuing your life mission is often very difficult, and many frustrations are experienced along the way. Major failures to bring out our potential can cause us considerable emotional pain. When this pain is unbearable, we are induced to shift from one intention and talent to another that better allows us to adapt and survive. Thus, we become set on a course that brings out a secondary or tertiary talent instead of the primary talent. This talent displacement may be expressed as a loss of our true nature or true self. The new purpose in life now functions as the core of a new personality: the ego. The ego has a structure similar to that of the true self. It is anchored in a talent and it draws on subtalents. But the person who is centered in his or her ego is not as powerful or talented as the person he or she originally was, living the primary purpose of life. This is because the original personality (the true self or "higher self") is still there, active and alive, behind the ego. Symptoms, disorders, and diseases may be explained by the loss of energy, joy in life, and intuitive competence because of inner conflicts, which may be alleviated or cured in the salutogenetic process of Antonovsky that helps patients find their sense of coherence or their primary purpose in life. Many cases of reduced ability to function, physically as well as psychologically, socially or sexually, can also be explained and alleviated in this way. When a person discovers his true talent and begins to use it with dedication, privately as well as professionally, his life will flourish and he may overcome even serious disease and great adversity in life. The salutogenetic process can also be called personal development or "quality of life as medicine". It is important to note that the plan for personal development laid out by this theory is a plan not for the elimination of the ego, but for its cultivation. An existentially sound person still has a mental ego of course, but it is centered on the optimal verbal expression of the life mission. Such an ego is not in conflict with one's true self, but supports the life and wholeness of the person, although in an invisible and seamless way. The more developed the person, the more talents are taken into use. So although the core of existence remains the same throughout life, the healthy person continues to grow. As the number of talents we can call on is unlimited, the journey ends only at death. Understanding the concept of the ego, it is very easy for the physician to motivate the patient to go through a lot of difficulties in order to grow and develop, and when the patient fully understands the concept of the ego and the true self (higher self), the patient gets a strong feeling of direction in personal development, and a motivation to fight the internal obstacles for quality of life, health, and the ability to function.
authors.affiliation: The Quality of Life Research Center, Copenhagen K, Denmark. ventegodt@livskvalitet.org
authors.forename: Søren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ventegodt
authors.forename: Niels Jørgen
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Joav
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merrick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004532:Ego; D005086:Existentialism / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D019369:Life; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011586:Psychology, Clinical; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011611:Psychosomatic Medicine / Q000379:methods