The One Liner

Humpty Dumpty’s Pride Led To His Great Fall, Learn How You Can Overcome Pride

Pavani Mantripragada

February 3, 2023. 4 minute Read

Pride is one of the seven great sins, according to the Bible. Satan rests in the frozen lake within hell due to his excessive pride and rebellion against God. 

We often think of pride in ourselves as a great thing, but there’s a fine line between self-confidence and excessive pride. The two can often get mistaken for each other. 

What is Pride?

Pride is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च ।

अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ सम्पदमासुरीम्‌ ॥

A quote from Bhagwat Gita.

dambho darpo’bhimānaśca krodhaḥ pāruṣyameva ca,

ajñānaṁ cābhijātasya pārtha saṁpadamāsurīm.

Parth, arrogance, superiority complex, excessive pride, anger, harshness, and ignorance are the wealth of demons. 

Arrogance, Superiority complex, excessive pride, anger, harshness, and ignorance lead to destruction. No one with these qualities would want you. People will hesitate to approach you, being repulsed by your behavior.

Duryodhana, the antagonist of the epic Mahabharata, was named Suyodhana. Suyodhana means “Good Warrior,” but his pride and arrogance led to him being called Duryodhana, meaning “Bad warrior.” He fought basically for everything. His pride did not allow him to see any reason in the wise counsel of his great-grandfather Bhishma or that of Vidur. 

So How Does Pride Differ From Self-Confidence?

Pride is the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one’s importance; confidence is a feeling of self-assurance from an appreciation of one’s abilities or qualities.

Pride can be a destructive attitude that leads to arrogance and an unwillingness to accept constructive criticism. You can identify an individual with pride by the way they carry themselves. A proud person often dismisses others, not listening carefully or taking in what others say. They are more focused on their accomplishments than those around them and view themselves as superior. This behavior prevents people from sharing their ideas or thoughts, making collaboration easier if possible. It’s tough for a proud person to receive input from others; they constantly crave attention from others. Their identity revolves around achievements and accolades and hence, they become increasingly isolated over time. 

Self-Confidence is an admirable quality. They are aware of who they are and what they aspire to be. People’s perceptions of them do not easily affect them. When a confident person walks into a room, everyone feels their presence. Their self confidence reflects through their personality. They shine their light without becoming overbearing. They are open to hearing what others have to say. A self-assured person does not seek attention, but if they do, they don’t use it to define themselves. A confident person does not assume that not knowing something makes them less capable. Self-confidence is an attitude that says, 

"

I might not know it at this moment, but I will make an effort to learn from those who are knowledgeable on that matter.”

Step to Overcome Pride

The first step is realizing that pride would harm you and admit it. This is the most challenging step because realizing and preparing to correct yourself is a sign that you have not totally let it ruin your presence of mind.

deep thinking

Part 1: Acknowledge The Issue With Pride

The most challenging part of this step is acknowledging pride. It is to finally be able to pinpoint that, yes,” I have a problem. I am being too prideful.” More often than not, people only realize this at the very end So there are few ways how one can acknowledge the issue with Pride.

1. Own Your Mistakes

Acknowledge that you have made mistakes. It is okay to forgive your mistakes, and move on. This allows you to be less prideful. So first and foremost own your mistakes. 

2. Stop Being Defensive

When a prideful person makes a mistake, they end up blaming others or situations for them. One should never own an attitude of blaming everything to everyone for what happened to them. It’s okay! If you don’t wish to explain everything to every third person.

3. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness empowers you to slow down and be in the moment. It raises your awareness of your thoughts and can assist you in recognizing your arrogant ideas and emotions. It will allow you to understand perspectives.

Part 2: The Issue With Self-Consciousness

Often, the deep seating issue with pride is the need to be praised at every instance. Prideful people are very self-conscious and do not want to be seen as fools. They want to be praised for all their actions. They seek recognition from others. 

To overcome pride, you have to overcome the self-consciousness problem. 

1. Choose one item you want to learn

accomplish and make a plan to begin within the following week. Don’t overthink things; simply do it.

2. Making mistakes is common and natural

Focus on how it feels to resist your self-consciousness while engaging in this exercise. Avoid thinking about other people’s ideas or judgments. Accept it as part of your learning process if you make a mistake.

3. Embrace Constructive Criticism

And it actually helps in building credibility overtime. Constructive criticism will learn things that you never knew before. 

4. Ask Questions

Not everyone knows everything. It is okay to ask questions. It is okay if you have yet to understand what they said in the first instance. Ask them and try to understand. Learning how to ask a question will help you to overcome pride.

Part 3: Learning Humility

This is actually the part where the most significant change will occur. This might be hard when you are prideful, but it is okay to slowly begin imbibing these aspects. One step at a time.

1. Tell Others Where You Lack

The thing about pride is that it does not tolerate being seen as anything less than perfect. Vulnerability is challenging, but it will be rewarding to share it with those who love you just as profoundly.

2. Praise Others

Praising others should be in your daily routine when you are planning to overcome pride. Praise one person a day on something they really did great. No fake praises. Try a genuine compliment.

3. Different People have different Opinions

This is hard, but you can learn it through practice. You have to learn how to accept the view of other people even if you disagree with them. It is important to understand that everyone cannot have the same opinion as you. 

4. Learn To Ask For Help

It is okay if you decide that you need help. Asking for it is fine as well. Reach out to those who care for you. Your loved ones are always there to help you out without being judgmental about the same.

Final Thoughts

Pride, in addition to pushing people away, can prevent you from maturing as a person. Thinking too highly of yourself prevents you from listening to and learning from others.

The secret is to be humble while remaining confident.

Being humble does not imply putting others first at the expense of yourself. It means you do have the ability to listen to other people without taking their views personally. It means that you do not miss out on the opportunity to help others and become better.

Psychologist Recommendation
Pride is having a high opinion of oneself, where an individual feels more important and better than others. The positive aspects of pride are dignity, self-respect, and honor. However, pride is not always good; being mindful of this emotion can make us arrogant and destructive. It often prevents us from acknowledging our weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

  It's essential to respect and love ourselves, but it's also important to respect and be kind to other individuals.

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