How is a prideful person?

We have all felt proud at some point for something we have done. We know what it is to be satisfied with what has been achieved, with that success so hard worked for and achieved. This attitude is positive and even healthy for self-esteem and self-concept. Now, on the other side we have the proud person, that profile that uses its achievement (or the belief thereof) for a very different purpose: to humiliate others and feel superior.

We could say that pride has a positive aspect and one that in itself delimits a type of personality that is poorly adjusted or even harmful in many cases. For experts in personality psychology, we should all be able to develop a healthy sense of pride. It is a way to respect ourselves and understand that, in turn, we deserve to be respected by others.

However, What is no longer so appropriate is to develop that type of feeling with which someone ends up applying excessive self-esteem. The one in which they place themselves above others to exceed the limit of respect and display the most poisonous arrogance. Let’s delve into it.

What a proud person is really like

A Proud person is one that has a Overconfidence in herself. Everything he does, everything he says and everything he thinks is perfect.

It may sound familiar to all of us because, in some way, we have come across this profile on various occasions throughout our lives. They are those friends that one day we left behind because they considered that we had done something unforgivable to them. They are those co-workers who always looked over our shoulders and those family members with whom we stopped talking because their treatment was as harmful as it was offensive.

Let’s look at some of its most basic features.

1. Pride as a defense mechanism

This fact is curious. In many cases, these are people who They unconsciously hide certain facts or events that at some point generated a type of insecurity in them. They may be mistakes made or slights suffered by others in the past.

Thus, What they very often do is use pride as a weapon of defensehighlighting their achievements and successes over others so that they do not discover their weaknesses or the weak points that they still have.

Pride is like a shield or armor that serves to mask the feeling of inferiority. Carl Jung expressed it by saying that “through pride we deceive ourselves,” referring to the role of self-deception as a means of protection against the fear of recognizing our own mistakes and their consequences.

2. He is hypersensitive, everything bothers him and offends him

Do not talk to her about your achievements, do not discuss with her your worries, your goals or the objectives you are about to achieve. The proud person will reinterpret any act to assume it as a direct attack on his or her ego. Even more, He will see any quality that defines you as a clear threat against himself.hence he does not hesitate to see you as a rival and feel offended by everything you do or say.

3. You have a great need for control

This type of profile needs to take control in every scenario in order to validate their pride. At the family level, this behavior can be very destructive. The proud person demands that kind of absolute veneration in which no one can be opposed, no one can be above him or her and even less stand out in any aspect.

4. Every opportunity is good to shine

Any conversation or circumstance is good to highlight your virtues. They are also the type of people who constantly talk about their past achievements, their good relationships with certain important figures, how appreciated they are in certain professional sectors…

Little by little he ends up taking control of the conversations to direct them exclusively toward himself. An epicenter that ends up exhausting and alienating those who surround it.

5. He does not usually ask for help or forgiveness

The proud person believes himself to be perfect and superior, so He will believe that he can do everything and that he does everything well in his own way. In fact, their way is the best way to do things and no other. Therefore, she will hardly ask for help or forgiveness, since the first does not need it and neither does the second because she does nothing to others, at most it is the opposite.

6. He has high self-esteem

If something characterizes a proud person, it is that they have high self-esteem. This can be based on objective skills or qualities, or on the contrary, consolidated on subjective ideas. In fact, When we think about pride we do so in the context of someone having a good opinion of themselves..

7. They do not feel threatened by others

Although it is true that a proud person is very competitive, deep down they do not feel threatened by the success of other people. They are so confident in their abilities, aptitudes and skills that they know that sooner or later they will achieve equal or greater success.

8. They are not afraid to express their ideas or opinions

Because of their self-confidence, proud people are not afraid to express their ideas or opinions. This does not mean that they are always giving it, but that when they do, an aura of confidence, security and determination surrounds them.

9. They enjoy the approval of others

A proud person will enjoy social approval. For example, they enjoy having their circle approve of what they say, what they do, or what they think.. This is a reward that fuels his pride more and more.

We must take care of the borders of pride

That we have confidence in ourselves is good, but an excess of it about an idea, an act or a situation can paralyze the positive that can happen to us, without giving us any option to improve it. It is always advisable to leave some room for doubt, to analyze everything we do. and thus be able to improve it, allowing us to advance along the path.

In some way, historically and even from a doctrinal point of view, pride is seen as one of the seven deadly sins has its logic. Let’s think about it, We have all been repelled by those types of people who have an exaggerated view of themselves. Of those who only talk about their achievements, of those who give themselves that “self-aggrandizement” that is as tiring as it is harmful.

The proud person is the living example of that famous phrase that says “first me, second me and third me.” Pride, let us not forget, is secretly driven by low self-esteem and shame. Those who are proud feel bad about themselves and compensate by looking for those situations in which they feel superior, being the vanguard of every circumstance. Hence, and to achieve this, they do not hesitate to be those avid seekers of other people’s defects and at the same time the most implacable destroyers of virtues.

It is important to never reach these territories. The best thing is to take care of the borders, recognize our vulnerabilities, our mistakes and prevent the most harmful pride from assuming control.. Because when this happens, reason and dignity are lost. (and the people we love).

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