Pride Always Returns for another Battle – Are You Ready?
As soon as we think we’ve won the battle against our ego,
pride has just stolen another victory.
We never completely defeat pride. It is insidious. Pride causes a child to throw a temper tantrum when they don’t get their way. As adults pride appears in more subtle ways. It can be as simple as when we don’t allow someone to merge into traffic in front of us.
We define Humility as – Believing and acting like “It’s not about me.”
In this series on the Habit of Humility, I’ve shared stories about my struggles against my ego. I have worked hard and will continue to work hard to defeat my pride. But, I recognize this will be a major battle for the rest of my life.
The ironic—and sad—thing is, occasionally I think to myself “Wow! I am really becoming a humble person. If only the people who knew me in my 20’s and 30’s could see me now!” How awful is that? This only proves to me that I will always have to work incredibly hard to exercise Humility.
As soon as we think we’ve won the battle against our ego, pride steals another victory. If we want to be a Leader of Character, we have to realize we are always incomplete. The battle for our character will never end. Pride—along with fear—are the biggest obstacles to each of us as we exercise and develop our character.
Pride wins each time we:
Think we have nothing to learn.
Act like someone younger than us has nothing to offer.
Fight to get our way, instead of compromising to find the best way.
When we choose our pride, it makes it easier to make that same choice again. Over time we become that leader who thinks it is all about them and other people are here for our benefit.
But, each time we choose Humility, we take another step closer to becoming the humble and confident leader who inspires trust and builds committed teams. When a leader believes and acts like “It’s not about me,” they take another step closer to becoming a Leader of Character. Those are the type of leaders we all trust and are committed to following.
Each and every day, we must prepare for a battle against our pride. Are you ready today? What choices are going to make to exercise Humility by believing and acting like “It’s not about me?”
Dig Deep Questions:
How does pride subtly sneak up in your own life?
What is one action you could take this week which would help you to exercise Humility and defeat pride?
Making a shift towards taking responsibility and living with Humility is a lifelong journey. We want to partner with you as you practice the habit of Humility daily, which is why we have created our Habits of Character Action Guides.
The Humility Action Guide offers you a month of daily, interactive training complete with a daily reading, dig deep questions, weekly processing guides and instructions on how to use the guide both individually and with your team. The Humility Action Guide is now available here.
We are behind you, championing for you, your teams and your organizations as you become the leader you wish you had. We want to come alongside you as you grow to confidently answer “yes” to the question, “Would you follow you?”