The Problems With Fear and Pride

Pride Will Slow You Down

Fear and pride can be two emotions that rob you of peace, love, joy and happiness. Fear can cause self-doubt and a loss of confidence in the best of people. Many times the fear that people have is nothing more than being afraid of what others will think of them. And that comes from pride.

Don’t Fear Failure

None of us is without fear. We all have it. Fear comes to us naturally. It is a mechanism that kept our ancestors from being eaten by large predators. It is what keeps us from doing obviously dangerous and foolish things. Just think of how powerful you could be if you could live your life without the fear of failure? You can.

Unfortunately we are taught the fear of failure in our early years in school. We can “fail” a test or even “fail” a grade. We are taught that failure is a disaster. That isn’t always the case. Failure can sometimes just be the hint you need that you are heading in the wrong direction. It can cause you to change course and head on to victory.

Pride is another emotion that limits our ability to live freely. Pride can be a terrible disabler when it gets out of control. There is nothing wrong in taking pride in our work or our accomplishments. But when we let pride start dictating our actions we need to put a stop to it.

I have seen pride ruin many a person and stifle their performance, productivity and personal satisfaction.

You see, in order to live a full life we have to take chances. And sometimes when we take chances we don’t succeed. If you are full of pride, you are going to hesitate to take that chance because you are afraid of what people will think of you. What if you try something new or different and do not succeed?

In my way of thinking, you will have a new experience that you can weave into the tapestry of your life. Isn’t that what is important in life, after all? Life is to be lived to its fullest. There is a saying I often use in my speeches. “A full life is a glory to God.”

When you put aside fear and pride, you can set out each day with the attitude that you are open to new things. Opportunities suddenly appear. But those opportunities often times require taking a chance. If you let fear and pride limit you, those opportunities will go by without you grabbing onto them.

Today choose to set fear and pride aside. Act in an unexpected way. Do something you have never done before. Focus on the opportunities rather than the constraints. Spread your wings, face into the wind and fly.