PRIDE COMES BEFORE A FALL

I am currently reading a very deep and thought-provoking book – recommended by Madeleine Black – The Divine CEO by Geoff Thompson.

There is a lengthy chapter entitled The Divine Shock which talks about how we are often stopped in our tracks just when we are riding the waves of success and feeling confident and upbeat. The ego is enjoying being mightily stroked and then suddenly, often without any warning, we come crashing down from the proverbial pedestal of pride!

I had first-hand experience of this just this weekend. On Friday evening I was relishing every minute of the Becoming More Significant Podcast launch party. It was set up and hosted on mix-cloud by fabulous DJ – Neil Long.

There were inspiring extracts from interviews with wonderful guests who were all featured on screen throughout the evening. He shared extracts from my interview talking about the purpose behind the podcast and played some really uplifting music.

The chat box was full of lovely comments and we watched the numbers rise to over 300 throughout the evening, cheering every major milestone!

There were many heartfelt messages afterwards and I went to bed on a real high!

In the morning I felt really blessed and relived much of the evening, journaling to record those happy feelings.

One thing nagged me though! On screen throughout the evening, Neil had comments in large letters such as ‘Sylvia Baldock Rocks’. These were meant with every good intention from Neil but the more I thought about it, the less at ease I felt. The evening and the podcast were not about me, they were created to spread the message of how we can all become more significant in the world right now and live a life of fulfilment and purpose making a real and lasting impact on the people we interact with in work and life.

Whilst still relishing the energy and momentum of the launch – this nagging feeling persisted.

An hour later I had a call from a client which brought me crashing down from my ‘high’. I had inadvertently upset her with something I had said and she was extremely unhappy. It was totally without intention and I apologised unreservedly but the damage was done.

Having never upset a client before, I was devastated and felt sick to my stomach all day and into today. I was in the middle of reading the chapter on the Divine Shock and it so resonated with me that I felt compelled to share.

In a nutshell, the Divine shock happens when we are riding high, feeling invincible or just really confident. It’s when the Ego is taking centre stage and it sharply and painfully brings us back to earth and reminds us that when we are living life on purpose there is a higher force working through us – we are just the conduit.

I know many people reading this may not agree and I am not looking for endorsement – I have experienced the highs and lows of life for too long to expect or want endorsement from everyone. What I have learned and needed to be reminded of was that ‘pride does indeed come before a fall’ and those words of my strict Baptist father – ‘don’t get above your station young lady’ need to be heeded every time the ego seeks applause.

Meditation, yoga and getting out in nature have helped to bring me back in line with my higher purpose today. I am so thankful for the tools I can tap into, however, I have not tried to suppress the painful feelings of upsetting someone I hold in high regard. I was wrong, I caused distress and for that I am deeply sorry and deserve to feel the pain I do today.

Big lessons learned and truly humbled.