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Hardest part of personal growth

Personally, the hardest part of growth for me is managing my pride and ego. 

Considering my cultural background and upbringing - these two are the hardest - after all, they are lifetime in the making. Knowing when to adjust those two is the real struggle. 

Aristotle said:
Pride is a crown of the virtues; it is not found without them, and it makes them greater.”

Referring to the fact that there are two types of pride - good and bad. 

Good pride is the result of hard work, effort, results — an inherently natural and powerful emotion. Bad pride, while often subtle, is illogical, stubborn, harmful, and stalling.” 

Good pride is important, of course, it is important to be proud of your accomplishments and recognize how far you've come. It builds confidence, self-love and respect.  Good pride also doesn't let you forget your values and ethics - and ensures you stand by what you believe no matter what carrot is dangled in front of you (particularly important to remember when building a business!). 

But, the bad pride ... that is the one to watch out for. 

Pride is easy to show when things are going well. But, what about when things are not going so well? What about times when you feel so low and feel like a failure? Days when you have to own up to your downfalls/shortcomings? That is when the bad pride can break you if you don't manage it. This is when defense kicks in and you might take things personally because it is hurting your bad pride and ego! 

I guess these are the days that we grow (or settle back into our ways, the choice is ours). These are the days you are forced to unlearn a lot of things you have been conditioned to learn over the years > behaviors, responses, reactions, etc. This is when you have an opportunity to push back your insecurities that arise and to be open to learn - to receive constructive criticism. If you are able to do that, you will be better for it. If you are able to manage the emotions fueled by pride and ego at that moment, you are able to EVOLVE

There is also a direct correlation between pride/ego + growth mindset. 
Growth mindset is defined by Carol Dweck in her book Mindset, describes people who believe that their success depends on time and effort. People with a growth mindset feel their skills and intelligence can be improved with effort and persistence.  Pride and ego get in a way of applying this mindset to your life. Thus, if one truly wants to practice growth mindset, one must learn how to manage both and not let it get in the way. 

Obviously, writing this as a reminder to myself first and foremost. But, hope it speaks to you as well. 

What about you? How do you balance between the good and the bad pride?
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