The Bondage Of Pride

I ran into the uncomfortable realization that pride is one of the biggest things that keeps me in bondage.

So I decided to take an inwards look and ask myself how does pride manifest itself.

It's pride that makes me not stop and turn around when I make a mistake.
It's pride that makes me not admit I was wrong.
It's pride that leads me to do all the things I swore I'd never do.

I'd wager most people could relate to much of the above. And usually it's easy to look back and see those times and moments where those things happened. But the question is can we detect pride in ourselves right when it's rearing it's ugly head?

What are the symptoms of pride influencing our judgement?

Stubbornness perhaps?
What about anger...?
What about denial...?
Here's an easy one, lying is a classic symptom of pride.
Refusing to ask for help?
What about distrusting the people you do actually trust?
Pushing away the trusted friends from your life?
Calling a true friend an enemy?

You see toxic pride will always manifest in a negative form. It's a poison that always kills your life and steals your good future, replacing it with a miserable one.

Sadly pride feels good in the moment. It piggie backs on top of self righteousness, selfishness, justification, excuses, lies, judgement, and condemnation. So in the moment you often feel good or pleased with yourself. But make no mistake the poison is quickly racing through your system already...

Ever run into this?

When events don't go according to your plans or dreams, do you find yourself recoiling? If so how does that recoil feel?

Does it feel humbling? Or does it make you angry?
Does you feel sadness? Or do you feel like attacking someone else?
Do you draw closer to loved ones? Or do you push people away?
Do you refuse to accept the outcome? Or do you start to re-adjust your expectations?

Now you might get this far and then ask...

Sure, but how do I fix it!?

I believe the only way to fix pride is through trust.

You see pride is internal, and self focused. So the counter to pride is trusting others above yourself in those moments. Seeking others instead of pushing them away. Running to loved ones, instead of making excuses.

Give it a try sometime. What do you have to lose...? Just your pride