Tuesday, December 3, 2024 Hubris Is Alive and Well Don’t worry. I’ve got this. Maybe Blogs Newsletters National By André van Heerden, Communications Director Two competing ideas have been warring in my brain. If having confidence in yourself is one of the keys to success, how does that work with the truism that pride comes before a fall? Famous college football coach Bear Bryant said, “If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride—and never quit—you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.” But the Bible famously says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov. 16:18) So, which is it? It seems like there are many more examples of arrogance around today than ever before—or likely just more ways to see it. From self-glorifying politicians, to condescending celebrities, to boastful athletes, hubris is alive and well. And for many it seems to be successful. Social media influencers in particular have created a new and profitable occupation based a lot on self-promotion. And highly influential people are often quoted as saying that their self-confidence was a big reason for their success. Martial arts icon Bruce Lee said, “Always be and have faith in yourself. Don't go out and look for a successful personality and try to duplicate it.” And actress Rosie Perez said, “You have to believe in yourself. You need to have the audacity to be great.” But as a coach and manager, I’ve recognized that players and workers who believe they know everything are very difficult to teach. A soccer player who doesn’t recognize that they could be better isn’t going to desire the knowledge to be so. A worker who thinks they know everything about how to do a job is going to ignore instructions from anyone else. The only way anyone is going to listen—to really listen and learn—is to be humble. Author, speaker, and psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud wrote that “pride asks who’s right? Humility asks, what’s right?” There was a recent crazy highlight (or lowlight) from the NFL during a game between the Chicago Bears and the Washington Commanders in Washington. The Bears player mocked the home fans before and even during the very last play of the game—a game that he was sure that the Bears were about to win. Unfortunately for him, that very last desperation play was a Hail Mary pass that resulted in an unlikely touchdown by the Commanders resulting in an embarrassing loss for the Bears. Leadership expert and author John C. Maxwell noted that “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 fail, but ‘when.’ There are no exceptions.” I think one of the reasons why this proves to be so true is that pride prevents us from receiving correction. But beyond the desire and ability to learn and to accept correction, there are more advantages to being humble. One, people like being around others who are interested in them. Pride makes us focus on ourselves. Humility makes us curious about others and makes it easier to connect with them. Two, it’s difficult to achieve real happiness when you’re always focused on getting ahead of others. Minister and author Henry Ward Beecher wrote that “a proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” And famous author and scholar C. S. Lewis wrote, “For pride is spiritual cancer; it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.” So, while confidence in oneself is good if it allows us to take risks and strive to do well, it’s a detriment if it curtails our longing to learn, makes us less interested in others, and leaves us feeling unsatisfied. I guarantee that that Chicago Bears football player felt unsatisfied with his performance. Hopefully, we can all learn from his example. You might be interested in Define Your Role to Define Your Success 14 Feb 2025 Maplecrest Employees Secure Retroactive Wage Increases with New Two-Year Contract 13 Feb 2025 Liftsafe Engineering Employees Overwhelmingly Ratify New Agreement 11 Feb 2025 School Bus Drivers In Fort Nelson, BC, Unanimously Ratify New Contract 11 Feb 2025