"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs, or the Book of Wisdom, speaks on this. There are schools of thought on the levels of pride, all of which conclude that it is a roadblock for so many people. What is it that causes us to pump our chests towards the unknown? What is it that stops our humility? We fear being wrong as if life lessons aren't measured by our mistakes. A step in the wrong direction is often a step in the right direction if we are willing to own that it was a misstep. What happens in our minds when we aren't willing to admit we were wrong?
If knowledge is documented experience, then is it safe to say none of us know everything? Where does the "know it all" mentality come from? Is the ego created stronger than the self to grow, learn, and adapt? Is comfort worth your demise? If we operate from a blind spot, we will run into something. It's our need for control that leads us to our destruction. It's dangerous to assume that through control, we are the ultimate source in whatever area. We use pride as protection and call it an emotion when it's also a state of being. How do you know when your pride is in the way?
Follow Your Vulnerability
Pride is a wall we build to protect our most vulnerable reality. We hide behind "thick skin" to be perceived as strength. True strength is your ability to own your weakness and find your power. Does your lack of knowledge scare you? Why? Feeling inferior to others is meaningless. It keeps us bogged down in a fog of deprivating thoughts. You can't judge yourself by someone else's success. Be inspired by it, yes, but comparing your journey to theirs is pointless. Don't become defensive because of your vulnerability, but instead, use it as a reason to learn. Grow to accept being uncomfortable.
Is This a Revolving Door?
You are your patterns and rituals. If you are always taking ten steps forward and fifteen back, don't you think there's something wrong? Our pride will tell us everything is fine. It will instruct us to work harder, and the cycle continues. Remember: you don't know what you don't know. If you find yourself in a familiar place, ask yourself what you can do differently this time. Consider the reemergence of a familiar situation as your warning. Identify how you have reacted in the past. After careful consideration of how your pride has led you back to this familiar place, respond.
Be Honest With Yourself
You have to live with you. You are the main character of your story. Treating yourself like the villain is wrong. There's a fine line between being honest with yourself and being cruel. The line is grace encompassed with forgiveness. The hero's journey starts with life as it is. It is turned upside down by inciting incidents that push them towards conflicts. Some conflicts are too big to handle alone, but we pridefully face them to find defeat. We then acknowledge that they require us to learn, grow, and change. Those changes give us new perspectives about ourselves and the journey. With this honest transaction, we create a new sense of life as it is, to step towards a future much brighter than the one before. This only happens when we humble ourselves.
Pride is not a shield. It doesn't protect you. Pride reveals more about you than you realize. Pride brings to light all that you won't or don't want to change. However, there is power when you recognize it. Your possibility changes when you see it for what it is. The choice you make at that moment can grant you favor or demolish all you have worked so hard to build. In the next season of life, pride cannot go with you because only destruction will follow.
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