How To Overcome Pride

[TopicStarter]

Do you feel that pride is getting the better of you? Well, it is known to be a deadly sin, and there is enough reason for that. I believe one can keep learning throughout one’s life from everybody around and pride shouldn’t stop that from happening.

The moment you think that you know better than others, pride kicks in and learning stops. But here are some things that can help you keep your pride away and grow more. 

#1. Recognize the problem: The first step in getting over pride is to recognize its existence. While I am not asking you to be very hard on yourself, being introspective would not hurt. When talking to people, make a note of how you are thinking and see if you are dismissing their words. 

#2. Listen, listen, listen: Pride often makes you feel that you know it all. And that is when you would stop listening to others. My advice here is to listen more and to give them the opportunity to express themselves. The more they express, the more you get to understand their ideas.

#3. Overcoming embarrassment: I have realized over time that pride often stems from shame or embarrassment, which can cause people to become “closed.”

It is time to stop taking yourself so seriously, and it is absolutely fine if you do not understand or know everything. Remember that you are human and bound to make mistakes. So, it is okay to laugh at yourself at certain times. 

#4. Being open-minded: Remain open to the perspectives and ideas that your co-workers or friends have. Try not to stop them in the middle of an argument or sentence when you think you know better. Instead, hear them out and let yourself accept the different thoughts and opinions.

#5. Prioritize: Last but not least, it is important to prioritize the work or business rather than your pride, as that could help your business grow by leaps and bounds.

Consider what the current business or work needs and ask yourself if you can be better at it by letting go of any sense of false superiority. An understanding boss or employee is always well-loved by co-workers, and you will find people wanting to talk and interact with them more. 

While I know that making this change is going to be difficult, it will open a number of new doors for you. And you will have the opportunity to become a better version of yourself. 
 

[Emma]

Pride is a terrible thing. It really does hinder people from growing and prevents them from reaching goals and being fulfilled in life. I used to have a very prideful friend and she could never be wrong, never would acknowledge her faults, and claimed to be just "telling it like it is". Anytime someone corrected her, she would get angry and have a fit over it. Needless to say I had to cut her from my life.

[Xavier MG]

I love your point #2. We often fail to listen to what others have to say. Because of pride we think we know better. And by so doing, we miss the big picture or we fail to get a chance to see things from others' perspective. Listening is a very important skill that we really should practice. And boy! It is not an easy one! I am still learning how to listen better!