The Potential Pitfalls of Pride

Julius Caesar famously said "If I fail it is only because I have too much pride..."

Pride is like many "pleasurable" things in life -- it might feel rewarding in the moment, but in excess can be self-defeating, if not destructive.

I'm not talking about the genuine pride that comes from doing a job well done, but the arrogant pride that gets in the WAY of being open to HELP, and then doing an even BETTER job.

Would Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius have hit the HELP button? ??

Yes, yes he would. Aurelius highlights the admirable quality of accepting help without feeling diminished when reflecting upon what he learned from Appolonius, one of his philosophy teachers:

Professional Pride ????

We all take pride in our accomplishments, and perhaps sometimes rightly more so when we "did it ourselves," but what was the context? Did we do it ourselves because that's what was required and was the best thing for the overall good?

Or did we do it ourselves to prove something that didn't need to be proved, when delegating or sharing (or accepting help), would lead to a quicker, better, more efficient result?

Science ??

Jessica Tracy, in a Scientific American article entitled "Pride: It Brings Out the Best -- and Worst -- in Humans," puts it like this:

"Depending on which kind of pride we feel, this emotion can have almost opposite effects on our thoughts and behavior. One brings out the very best in human nature, and the other elicits the worst. By understanding pride's two-sided nature, we can learn to harness this emotion to make the most of our goals and aspirations."

Adam Grant, in Think Again, similarly discusses the polar differences between arm chair quarterbacking (thinking you know everything when you don't) and impostor syndrome (thinking you don't know anything when you probably do), and the happy middle ground of "confident humility":

"You can be confident in your ability to achieve a goal...while maintaining the humility to question whether you have the right tools.... That's the sweet spot of confidence."

The Big Finish ??

So if you put aside your pride, and act without pride, you may be rightly proud of yourself. ??

??: With A Little Help From My Friends, by the Beatles "Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends."

???: "Nothing, not one thing, hurts us more -- or causes us to hurt others more -- than our certainties." -- Maria Popover

??: Ego is the Enemy, by Ryan Holiday