Personal Development and Pride

The following article is from the new book, Getting Personal: A Guide to Personal Development by author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey.  To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.  

Personal development is the ability to look at yourself honestly. The problem comes in when we are taught that to see your strengths, the things you are good at and the areas where you excel, is wrong and shows a lack of humility. We somehow think that if we recognize any good about ourselves we have an ego problem and are in danger of being self-centered. Please understand, that is so very far from the truth.

The reality is, people who are narcissistic and ego-driven tend not to see themselves honestly. They believe they are good in areas where they are not, and that they are better than everyone else. Success-minded people know that there are things we are all good at, areas where we all excel. This is just a fact. It does not mean you are a better person than the next guy, only that you can perform a task better. Success-minded people not only see their own value and strengths, but they also see the value and strengths of others.

A good understanding of your strengths and weaknesses is necessary to be able to do all that you desire to achieve in life. Far too many people are held back by a false sense of humility. They believe that if they see themselves, or even worse, have the world see them as weak and incapable they are humble and without pride. The opposite is true. If you are so desirous for the world to see you as some wonderful humble person, you are in fact acting out of pride.

When Ben Franklin developed his 13 Rules for a Virtuous Life, he had actually started with 12. He added the 13th, humility, because he believed that it was important to achieve for a balanced and virtuous life. His problem was that he felt as soon as he knew he had achieved humility, he lost it. Of the 13 rules, it was the one he never felt he was able to achieve. And so it is with us. As soon as you think you are humble, or that you appear to the world as humble, you are not.

Personal development and the achievement of your dream will not happen on its own. It takes action and that action has to happen now. Click on the Free Membership button in the side bar and start your journey to achievement today!

© 2016 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without permission of the author.