What to Be Proud of
Did you know that, of the “seven deadly sins,” theologians consider pride the deadliest of all? That's because unreasonable pride in oneself, as a focus above all other things, usually leads to actions these theologians would consider improper and unhealthy. In other words, this type of pride is the beginning of sin. I apologize for starting off with pride as sin, but a little context would be useful since the topic implies there would also be things we shouldn't be proud of. You probably have some ideas about what those might be. But, back to the topic, let me suggest the following:
We should be proud of things we do that help other people, or make other people happy.
We should be proud of accomplishing something we didn't think or weren't sure we could.
We should be proud of doing something positive that we did anonymously.
We should be proud of actions that keep a positive tradition going or growing.
We should be proud of trying to or doing our best.
We should be proud of our ability to tell right from wrong, and trying to do the right thing.
We should be proud of learning new things, and teaching them to others.
We should be proud of overcoming the fear of trying.
And yes, I think it's perfectly fine to be proud that others say they are proud of you.
None of these and other similar reasons you might name, I believe, begins with the goal of recognition of your importance. But that still leaves a world of things that you hopefully are or will be proud of. Maybe you can think of some?
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