Hello again. Welcome to today’s post in the 2017 A to Z Challenge blog. Loving the blogs I’ve visited and intend to follow a few of them when the month is over.
This morning, I wanted to talk about a two-edged sword —pride. To some, pride is one of the deadly sins, but to others it is the incentive one needs to get things done. Think about it.
The most common negative adage I’ve heard about pride is one adapted from Proverbs in the Bible: Pride goes before a fall. Shakespeare reworded it, but the meaning is the same.
And while it’s true that too much of anything, including pride isn’t good for you or for anyone around you, I see lack of pride as one of the biggest problems around me today. P is for Pride
If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride – and never quit, you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high, but so are the rewards. Paul Bryant
When I was teaching, more often than not, students didn’t put forward their best efforts. There was little pride in their work. Why? Because they didn’t see the value in it. They didn’t the see the big picture. To them school was a drudge, not a step on the way to a better future. As Jiddu Krishnamurti says, There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning. Not everyone learns the same lessons. In many cases, because they have no pride in their accomplishments, but too much pride in themselves to try and ask for help, they are destined to fail.
Imagine an athlete who stops training, stops performing. How long will he be at the top of his profession? He will quickly go from superstar to hasbeen.
Just because they aren’t the best at something doesn’t mean people should quit trying, and if they are the best, then they can’t rest on their laurels, because someone is working very hard to get up there and depose them. Lucky for the stars, far too many people simply quit trying.
I put hundreds of hours into each book I write. I write, edit, sweat, rewrite, all because I want to put forth the very best effort I can.
In the words of Jane Austen, vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would have others think of us.
I’m a proud person and I’m not ashamed to say it. I take pride in my accomplishments and those of my children and grandchildren because I understand the blood and sweat that goes into each and every thing they do, whether it’s in their workday, the sports they play, or they way they look after one another. I am a proud wife, mother, sister, and grandmother. I am also proud that I have the perseverance and persistence to reach for what I once saw as unattainable. I’m better today than I was yesterday, and one day, I will be the best I can be.
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A very thoughtful post today on the meaning of pride. And thanks for the bonus literary quotes.
Phillip | P is for Paper Bags
Thanks for visiting.
Pride is a double-edged sword, as you so ably describe. It has its bad side, but pride in a job well done — especially where sacrifice is involved — is important to self esteem.
Very nice! I love the photo/quotes that you incorporated into your post. Great thoughts for the day!
Very interesting and nice quotes!
You’ve got it right, there’s good to working hard and being proud of your accomplishments, and then there’s bad pride that holds you back or takes you down.
I use that quote often “Pride goeth before a fall.” And I agree about lack of interest and pride being a problem. Not pride in the puffed up way that goeth before a fall, but pride in doing you best work.
Finding Eliza