Just the other day I experienced ill feelings toward a coworker because of a supposed critique I heard he shared about me. It was a petty and truly unwarranted emotion to have against someone for something I only heard from someone else.
Nonetheless, my inward thoughts toward this person involved developing criticisms of his character and personality that I might use in my own defense. But more than that, these criticisms I was generating were rooted in the desire to hurt his ego, because really my ego was hurt. My own thoughts and ideas about myself were undermined and my natural response was to protect my ego, considering hurting his reputation in order to do so.
Chronicles of a Broken Saint 