The human ego is an overexplored concept, leading to the downfall of many. But no one talks about their rise, also fueled by ego.

The best example of this is a man who flew, Icarus. His story is etched into the minds of us all. We close our eyes and see a man falling from the heavens with burning wings. His ego took him too close to the sun, and burned his wax wing to the ground along with him.

But it was the same ego fueled by desperation that gave his father, Daedalus, the gift of flight; only him and his ego were brave enough to rise above the clouds and become the pinnacle of humanity.

The point is, ego is what makes us stronger, smarter and better. A key factor to my own progression is ego. Finding a person more successful than you in one aspect, and beating them at their own game. It isn't malice, rather a refusal to accept that another person's ceiling is yours as well.

For me, this wasn't an abstract theory, but a catalyst for the start of my career. In the stretch of 2022 - 2026, Computer Science was a rat race. Oversaturation and fear of AI plagued the job market. Even so, I switched from pre-medicine (which is relatively trivial) to Computer Science.

Surpassing my peers year after year, finding the next person I want to beat. My ego didn't get me into the race, it kept me ahead of it. There is no ceiling, no ultimate victory. There is only the next horizon, the next target, the refusal to stop flying.