This song is one of my wife’s favorites.
I have had several conversations lately related to the subject of pride. Difficult conversations as people struggle with what it means to be proud.
I have always thought of taking pride in your work and doing a good job as a virtue. An important element of doing a good job.
That is, I did, until I read some challenging words from CS Lewis several years ago that turned my thoughts on this subject on their head.
I’m still not sure if I have a feeling on what is “right” in this area.
CS Lewis says it this way “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man…it is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.”
Pride tends to be a self-centered feeling and humility a feeling of selflessness.
I have begun to wonder if pride is a bit of emotional “fool’s gold”. Fooling us into feeling better in the short term but not in the long run.
It looks and feels good on the surface but underneath it is rotten, full of holes and doesn’t support our long term health and happiness.
For me, being proud is still a struggle. I tell my kids and wife I am proud of them all the time…..
Hopefully someone on the list has found the answer to this conundrum for me and can just send me the answer…..
At the very least I have hopefully provoked some thought.
Make it a great day.
Jake
The Daily Attitude Email 