The toxic habit of pride

FOR life to run smoothly for us we have to ensure we are free from certain debilitating traits and habits. We must avoid and decisively deal with certain toxic habits and traits. Toxic habits are silent killers and once we detect their existence they must be eliminated.

We need to regularly do a self analysis of our lives to ensure we are not shooting ourselves in the foot through toxic thoughts, actions and attitudes. This is very important because we usually acquire bad habits on the road to life without even being aware of it until we get stuck.

“Much too often, we hold ourselves back from achieving the best version of ourselves. It can manifest in many ways, but it’s often toxic habits that hold us back from a better life. Sometimes, these habits don’t seem bad on the surface, but we often go overboard, turning what could be considered a positive quality into a toxic habit.” Kyle Robbins

If we are to succeed and make our lives count we must be on our guard.

“I once heard that our good habits better outweigh our bad ones by far if we ever want success in anything in life. It sounds simple and almost obvious, but the truth is that most of us aren’t even aware of our bad habits. It certainly makes sense, our habits are automatic, we don’t think before we act.

Did you know that on average 40% of your daily actions are automatic? This serves us in many ways; imagine having to remind ourselves to breath, or re-learning how to drive a car every day? Other habits seem to cause chaos in our lives though, but that can definitely be turned around.” Kristin O’Donovan

Pride is a toxic habit we must not tolerate in our lives. Pride is an over inflated idea of our own importance. “Pride is pleasure arising from a man’s thinking too highly of himself.” Baruch Spinoza

Pride is a very subtle and elusive toxic behavior because the first place pride infects is the eyes. Prides blinds its victim so he cannot see or realize he is proud. Pride will infect a man and if care is not taken he will be destroyed before he realizes it.

“Time and time again does the pride of man influence his very own fall. While denying it, one gradually starts to believe that he is the authority, or that he possesses great moral dominion over others, yet it is spiritually unwarranted. By that point he loses steam; in result, he falsely begins trying to prove that unwarranted dominion by seizing the role of a condemner.” Criss Jami,

The toxic habit of pride manifests in many ways. Pride makes a man think he knows everything. He sees no need to be taught or corrected. “There is nothing that will kill a man so soon as having nobody to find fault with but himself.” George Eliot

“Leaders who fail to prune their pride will meet demise. That’s not a guess, it’s a guarantee. With pride, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ we will fall, but ‘when.’ There are no exceptions.” John C. Maxwell

When a person is bitten by the pride bug he finds it difficult to be corrected or criticized and life just doesn’t operate like that.

“Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond remedy.” Proverbs 29:1

Pride will make a man to be attention hungry. He will have an undue romance and love for recognition and when he does not get the spotlight he gets upset, feels left out and grossly unappreciated.

Pride will make a man not seek for help when he needs it. He thinks he can always solve his own problem.