We all want to find happiness in our lives. While the idea of true happiness may mean different things to different people, there are so many people who simply feel as though they aren’t as happy as they want to be. More importantly, they aren’t as happy as they want to be and they don’t know why.

So many of us will go on seemingly endless journeys in order to find happiness from other people, from outside sources or from material possessions. Many of these people simply never find the happiness they are looking for. This is because they aren’t looking from within. If you really want to find happiness, you need to transcend your ego to get to the bottom of what will really make you happy. It’s not easy as our egos are very powerful things.

Here’s how you can try to overcome your own ego to finally find the happiness you have been searching for and to enjoy the life that you have.

Be Open and Honest

This is something that tends to be very difficult for most people, even those that don’t think they have a problem with honesty. We’ve all heard the old adage that the “truth will set you free,” and it couldn’t be more true or accurate. Those times that you lie, fib or conceal the truth it is your ego getting in the way. Many times it is in order to maintain a certain public perception or image.

Keeping your emotions concealed in this way can lead to depression, anxiety and an unbearable weight on your shoulders. Dishonesty takes a toll on people, which is why you should always attempt to seek the truth and to be open and honest. When you overcome your ego in this way, a great deal of positivity and happiness will begin to flood your life.

Learn to Let Go

There are so many of us who hold on to things so much in our lives. We hold on to past hurts, we have issues forgiving others and we hold grudges that simply cannot be moved. This is your ego getting in the way of your life. You may try to say that this is just your “personality” or try to put the blame on others, but when you are unable to forgive and move on, you are letting your ego get in the way.

When you are willing to transcend your ego, accept what has happened in your life, let go and move forward, bringing in this type of forgiveness into your life will help remove negativity and open room for happiness in your life.

Give Up Control

If you are one of those people, as many are, who has an incessant need to feel in control, then this is actually an example of your ego getting in the way of your life and it’s time to learn to let go. When you feel as though your job, your title, your achievements or your material possessions are all that you are—this is your ego controlling your life. If your ego is control you will never really be happy.

Learn to let loose. Let go of fear. Don’t be scared to take risks. Don’t be scared to love. Do what makes you happy and don’t be afraid if it scares you. If you give up control and don’t worry about what society or others think, you will start to experience a freeing happiness that you never thought was possible.

Do Something for Others

One of the main ways we see ego take over people’s lives is when it starts to manifest as selfishness. If you are someone that tends to be selfish and self-centered, this is your ego taking control. The first step, of course, is realizing that you act or tend to act in this way.

There is a way to start balancing these selfish acts out and it will bring a unique sense of happiness to your life in way that you never thought were possible. Do something small and selfless every day. It can be holding the door open for a stranger or shoveling your neighbor’s sidewalk. Either way, when you do one small selfless thing it begins to put your ego in check and you will start to feel a unique sense of happiness creep into your life that you may have never thought was possible.

Ditch the Materialism

If you want to balance your ego and find happiness, you need to learn to be less materialistic. This doesn’t mean you have to give up all of your possessions or even give up your luxury items. It just means you need to start getting rid of some of the things you don’t need, decluttering your life and start learning to not tie your self-worth to objects.

If you think having an expensive car makes you happy or makes you important—this is your ego manifesting in materialism. Learn to overcome that way of thinking and you will start to see the world in a whole new light and feel a sense of joy you may never have thought was possible.