Pride

"Don't let your pride get in the way". We've all heard that phrase and well, considering we were more than likely very interrupted by our pride at that moment in time, I would imagine it quite annoyed us! You see, what I wish to talk about today is the differentiation between being a proud person and being proud of yourself. Do I think its a "deadly sin"? No. However if you find yourself making decisions based on your own pride then honesty is not present in your choice and I believe it will impact negatively on your happiness.

 To differentiate, being proud of yourself and others is great! It means you or they have accomplished something which you think is good and overcome an obstacle that maybe you didn't know you or they could overcome. This type of pride is almost a form of gratitude. You are glad of who you are and of the people you have in your life. So what I would say is that pride in this form is a great feeling to experience.

However, we all know of a time when we let our egos and not-wanting-to-let-anyone-think-we're-wrong attitude get to us and it is very hard to budge! Let's take an example, you're arguing with someone and you know you're fighting a losing battle and that your points are wrong and unjust. Now answer me this, would you find it easy to admit you were wrong all along and accept the "I told you so" look? More than likely you're shaking your head and that is an immensely common problem we humans have. A lot of us let our pride hide whats right because we're thinking too much about our individual selves, our own egos. This is the type of pride I dislike in myself and in others. I feel it strips honesty of its glory and decreases the value of a well thought out, moral opinion. I believe we need to think more objectively when it comes to ourselves for the better of those around us and the energy we put into the world.

Some say the reason for martyrdom or just going to extremes for your beliefs is pride but I disagree. I believe there is a difference between doing what you believe to be right and not backing down and pride which as I've just explained is very much to do with your own egos and less about what you're fighting for. However, I do not think anyone should do anything just to boost other people's respect for them. We should do what's right and what's fair and if we do certain acts just to make us look a certain way then we're doing them falsely and we're setting ourselves up for a fall.

So I suppose what I can conclude for myself and hopefully for all of you reading this, is that just because arguments have traditions where neither person will admit they're wrong, doesn't mean you have to follow them. Arguments also have a tradition of getting no where, so traditions and normality in things like this are not always the best. The only way to come to a mature and fair solution is to admit when you're wrong and and don't back down if you think you're right. Don't always feel like you have to be a better, more respectable person by being too proud to accept a gift of money when you're running low or always be right in every situation. Reputations don't matter unless you let them. They're just other people's vague opinions of who you are.

                                                        Love,
                                                            Rachel! =)