THE DICHOTOMY CONUNDRUM BETWEEN PRIDE AND SELF-CONFIDENCE.
Kindly ignore the "pishure"
These two concepts (pride and self confidence) have often times been erroneously interchanged to mean the same thing but there's a tin line that differentiates them.
I realize that alot of persons understand this dichotomy but I think "we" need to be reminded once in a while.
Oxford advanced learner's dictionary defines pride (4) as the feeling that you are better or more important than other people.
While self confidence is simply the feeling of confidence in yourself and your abilities.
By these definitions it is obvious that one is positive and the other is negative.
Pride is primarily concerned with comparison and egotism; comparing self with others and producing false self elevation in the process.
The proud doesn't accept inputs, never says they are wrong, doesn't take others into account, always craves for public recognition for what they've done,boasts of how important he or she is, etc.
For pride, it is not very much about excellence and mastery much as it is about being perceived as the best.
Pride belittles other people's achievements to exalt it's strength.e.g "she passed with a 'B' when I can get an 'A'"
Pride is primarily motivated at the opportunity to outdo or outshine other people hence, it may not matter to a proud person if he/she fails as long as a perceived competitor(s) fails too.
Self confidence on the other hand, compares self to self. It is self proclaiming "I can accomplish this..."
While pride says "I am better than the others", confidence says "I am competent enough to excel at this task.
The confident man knows who they are and who they aren't.
The confident weighs the input of others and tilt towards the truth.
The confident realizes they can't do it all alone, works to build others up, doesn't necessarily need to talk down on others to prove their superiority, etc.
Confidence is driven by the need for excellence and mastery and not the need to be better than others.
The confident isn't threatened by the success of others neither are they threatened by the opinions of others but evaluates everything and learns from them all.
In summary,
If your motivation is the desire to be better than your colleagues and not being excellent, then you are proud and you should know that pride only appears to be confidence but it is actually a sign of insecurity and fear because it is always driven by the need for validation.
