Pride

Pride

“Pride Comes Before a Fall”.

This is a proverb which all of us have heard sometime or the other in our life. But can this be universally accepted?

We’ve heard about pride all our lives, heard countless stories about how it led to the downfall of mighty men like King Alexander the Great who refused to return to Athens unless he conquered the world or the unparalleled might of the Mighty King Ravana in the epic “Ramayana” who despite his unmatched strength was defeated due to his pride.

However there is something which pride has in common with virtues such as Gratitude and Compassion. All of these contribute towards making us more patient, more willing to persist in the face of challenges and more resistant to temptations that distract us from our aims.

Pride can often fall into 2 categories, Hubristic Pride and Authentic Pride. Authentic pride stems from proven possession of a valued ability while it is different for hubristic pride. It’s a grandiose belief that one has prized qualities that one doesn’t actually have.

For pride to work, it must be authentic and paired with humility — a humility to know that no matter our skill set, each of us depends on what others have to offer.

If we take pride in our progress,keeping humility in check,it can benefit our perseverance most. Taking pride in the right direction will also help us keep motivated and help us move in an upward trajectory towards our goals always.