Nurse Audrey’s Stress Relief Blog

In the last post we looked at the problems relating to greed. I hope you found in it something of interest and possibly helpful to you. Today, we will take a look at pride – the good and the bad of it.There is nothing wrong with the pleasure and satisfaction of doing something beneficial for ourselves or for others. Our self-esteem can get a tremendous boost from doing a job well and can even be the catalyst that drives us toward greater accomplishments. Research shows that the fastest way to increase the feelings of self-worth is to do something that gives us a sense of pride and satisfaction. We can also have pride in our neighborhood and, therefore, we keep it clean and attractive looking.

Arrogance, Haughtiness, Vanity, and Conceit – the Family of Pride

Let’s look at the flip side of the coin, the ugly side of pride. Pride and conceit are closely related. Pride seems to deal with having an undue high opinion of one’s own worth or possessions. Whereas, conceit deals more closely with a too high opinion of one’s self and our ability to do things. Following closely to conceit is vanity. Vanity occurs when one has too much pride in one’s looks, ability, or accomplishments. Vanity keeps people in favor with themselves, and out of favor with others. In addition, other family members of pride are haughtiness and arrogance. People are labeled haughty and arrogant when they become too proud and contemptuous of others – they are overbearing individuals. Remember the saying, “Pride comes before a fall.”

Develop Healthy Pride

Humility is the ability to give up your pride and still retain your dignity. Vanna Bonta

We all have marveled at the humility of great people even when they have accomplished extraordinary feats. The expression of humility does not show up in them at a moment’s notice; rather, it has become their lifestyle involving both their small and large deeds. Thankfully, overcoming pride and its destructive relatives and incorporating humility instead, is well within the reach of us all. Perform a cost-benefit analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of pride vs. humility. After listing all the ways that these can help or hurt you, you will be in a position to make an enlightened decision, and in the process develop a healthier value system.

Thoughts for Today;

“Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.”
Paul Bryant

“Pride is a personal commitment. It is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity.”
William Blake

“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.”
Kahlil Gibran

I trust that you are having a pleasant summer.
Until next time, this is Nurse Audrey signing off!