None of us likes to brag. But what many people don't know is that pride is actually a double-edged sword. If you do not have enough pride, you will face many problems with your self-esteem and feeling of success, and if your pride exceeds its limits, others describe you as narcissistic and conceited. Can pride and vanity really be a positive?
In my article today, we will look at the various forms of pride, how each affects our lives and even how feelings of pride and self-esteem can sometimes be beneficial to us.
When is pride negative?
We all know that everything that has exceeded its limit has turned against it. The same applies to pride. Rather, this is precisely what makes it a negative thing ... as it focuses on the ego and the self more than on the group or the whole.
Everything starts with exaggerated praise, as this matter contributes to the maximization of the individual's "ego" , and creates a desire to obtain confirmation from external sources. If you rely on outside praise to motivate yourself, you will have great difficulty in motivating yourself. In addition, enjoying unworthy false praise may make you drown in a sterile boast as a way to get more encouragement and praise from others.
Not only that, because people of very high pride often see themselves as more valuable and worthy than others. It is often a negative thing, because people with high pride rarely tend to seek help from others, which causes them to lead a very miserable life.
Due to all of these traits and characteristics of those with great pride, we are not inclined to be around them or spend time with them. But pride and vanity are not always negative. It is very healthy and positive to praise others when it is at the right time and in the right amount as well.
It is important to appreciate the efforts of others when they do something worthy of gratitude, and likewise it is important to obtain adequate recognition in exchange for doing a special work, as long as a person accepts praise in a way that balances pride and humility, there is never harm in acknowledging the accomplishments he has achieved.
5 things that prove vanity can be positive sometimes
Here are five reasons why having the right amount of vanity and pride can sometimes be really positive:
1- Adherence to high standards
People of high pride are known to possess high standards for everything in their personal and professional lives, which usually brings them higher quality results.
2- Resisting negativity and pessimism.
One of the most important advantages of pride is fighting negativity and pessimism! How is that? When things are not going as you want them to, you need some pride and vanity to be able to continue, because your pride will not allow you to give in, and it will push you forward to achieve what you aspire to. When you have enough pride, you will ignore the obstacles around you, and you will find yourself more positive and optimistic about life.
3- It's a sign that you really care!
When you feel proud of a specific job, person, or even yourself, it is a sign that you really care about that thing or person. Think about it, if your work didn't interest you, for example, you wouldn't feel proud that you were doing it, and you wouldn't find yourself proud of the successes you have achieved in it.
4- Motivating the spirit of leadership
This point is closely related to its predecessor, because when you are interested in something, you will be ready to fight for it, and so on, when danger surrounds this thing, the proud person turns into a knight to protect it, which returns positive results in many cases.
5- Compassion with family and friends
It may seem to you that sympathy and vanity never meet, but that is not impossible, as a person who enjoys an appropriate amount of pride and pride in himself and his family always seeks to protect them and take care of them, and provide the best for them. Which makes him more sympathetic to them.
How do you use pride to your advantage?
As long as you nourish the positive aspects of your pride, and take care to keep your ego in check, these feelings of pride and pride can become a real advantage in helping you reach your ambitions and dreams. You just have to remember one important thing: Make sure to link your pride to high standards, strive to adhere to those standards, and stay away from narcissism or exaggerated vanity.
Here are a few additional tips to help you use your pride in a positive way:
1- Accompany the Right People
There are many ways to positively feed your pride and avoid selfishness and negative vanity. Surrounding yourself with the right people can have a huge impact on setting you on the right path. Have you not heard the sentence that says: "Your life is nothing but the result of the lives of the five most people you spend your time with!" But, who are the really right people?
They are those who provide you with support and encouragement, but at the same time they are honest with you, and criticize you if you need some criticism and advice. As for those who exaggerate your praise all the time for every little thing or a big thing, they will probably not do you any benefit other than to amplify the "ego" within you.
Make sure to spend your time with people who truly and sincerely value you, because these are the people who will help you develop a healthy and positive sense of yourself.
2- Be humble
You can undoubtedly develop your sense of pride and be humble at the same time ... It's not impossible and there are no contradictions.
Just because you accomplished well, doesn't mean you have to go further and start bragging about getting compliments from others.
Familiarize yourself with being comfortable and content with the fact that you are doing your best to achieve the best results, and it doesn't matter much if you get an external affirmation or praise.
3- Try everything new
When you try new things in your life, you are giving yourself permission not to be the best at what you do. Whether it involves pursuing creative goals or developing a new skill, always make sure to choose a path that forces you out of your comfort zone.
Doing this will remind you that you feel like a beginner, and once you master this new thing, you will feel even more proud of having successfully accomplished something new. This is exactly what guarantees you continuous development in all aspects of your life.
4- Do what you love
People often need external affirmations when they do things they don't like. Think about it, when you wear clothes that you do not like very much, then you feel that you need to hear what others think of what you are wearing, more than you do when you are wearing the clothes you love so much! The same applies to everything else you do… In your job, for example, you may seek to be overly proud and arrogant about what you do to avoid any negative feelings related to your dislike of your job. Remember, nothing is always positive and satisfying, but when you do something you love, your focus will be on succeeding at it and making more progress in it than on what others say in praise or slander.
5- Take your time to review your behavior
Taking a moment to think about yourself, your values, and your feelings about life is very important, and you must do it consistently. Always take some time to reflect on your feelings and actions. Do you notice that you may have begun to develop new behaviors that express an increasing pride that comes to the point of arrogance and selfishness?
By constantly monitoring your feelings and behaviors, you will be able to adjust and correct them before excessive vanity shatters your entire life, and before it becomes an ingrained feeling that is difficult to treat or eliminate.
Always make sure to have a plan of action to implement in case you feel that your ego is getting out of control, and if you find yourself unable to identify or recognize these feelings, you can always resort to a trusted friend or professional in the field to guide you on the right path. Also read: What is Self Awareness and How Do You Develop It?
6- Do something for others
Use your skills to help others. For example, sponsoring, directing and supervising a new colleague at work, or volunteering your time to serve the community. Service to others ensures that you remain alert to your feelings and gives your life meaning and purpose. And even if you don't have much time, you can undoubtedly make the world better by doing very simple things.
last word
It is not a shame to feel that you are successful or to be happy with the achievements and successes you have achieved, this is without a doubt your right, and it will greatly contribute to raising your self-confidence and self-esteem. But the important thing is not to exaggerate your feelings, and not to view yourself as the center of the universe, or to rely on external praise and assurances from others to accept yourself, for this is exactly what will make your pride take a negative turn and affect your life and make you a conceited person who is alienated from others and avoids his company.
What do you think are other life situations in which pride can be a positive thing for the one who does it? Are there other ways to help you gain this positive pride in your life?
