Nothing to Be Proud Of

Pride is a vice to be fought, not a virtue to be celebrated...

Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
– Proverbs 16:18

It was Pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
– St. Augustine

There is a reason that pride is considered the foremost of the seven deadly sins. Pride is the first step in the slippery slope of thinking that you are better than others in both your judgments and behaviors. While you well may be, excessive pride is the beginning of separating yourself from others and denying your true nature.

It is only through the recognition that your reasoning and judgment are imperfect and that you have an implicit bias toward self-aggrandizement that you can fight back against letting your pride lead you astray. With pride comes flattery, where those around you inflate your ego even further by showering you with insincere praise. Flattery leads to further pride by tempting you into believing the story others flatter you with.

When your ego is suffused with pride, not only do you believe that your judgments are better than others, but you also discount the judgments of others. The more prideful you become, the harder it is to hear and see the truth. What stands for wisdom through the ages is discounted by those suffused with pride, as you now believe in the lies you tell yourself and that flatters tell about you.

There is a reason that pride is the precursor to destruction. The more pride defines you, the more that you fight against any message or indication that the facade you have built is imperfect.

History, current and ancient, is littered with countless examples of prideful religious and social leaders who have let their flawed judgment lead them astray. When you feel that you are better than others, when you feel that the “rules” do not apply to you, whether they be legal or moral, when you see yourself as the exceptional exception, then you are standing on the knife edge of your personal abyss.