PRIDE

Pride

Pride is a five-letter word with varying meanings in different social settings. Pride denotes a type of plant or ornamentation of the body. Also, it depicts a group of lions. Another standard definition of pride is the feeling of deep satisfaction that arises from the widely admired achievements. Pride also connotes being conscious of personal dignity. Historical description of pride shows that it represents both positive and negative attributes.

The harnessing of pride helps in building the emotional balance of an individual. This aspect contributes to the determination of personal value. 

Historical records dating back to 1297AD describes pride as the consciousness accorded oneself with regards to status or position (Kovecses, 35). This consciousness prevents the person from engaging in what is considered beneath or unworthy. This depiction highlights pride as a good virtue that hinders individuals from engaging in demeaning activities. Pride also connotes the inability to fall to lustful temptations of women, power and wealth. Indeed, pride exerts control on an individual, thereby leading them to make a strong stance against engaging in an unworthy course like prostitution. 

Pride depicts an overweening opinion of persona qualities, and achievements that result in the feeling of contempt and superiority for others.
In this case, pride comes out a negative attribute that portrays people as arrogant, vain and fond of belittling other people. Generally, people with a state of mind tend to view themselves as more superior and more capable than others. An interesting example may encompass a famous person like celebrities and politicians, offering gratitude to the little people (Heckhausen, 71). Offering thanks to little people suggest that they are better than others. The inference is they are bigger while other people are smaller. Indeed, pride becomes a negative trait when it gets the best of an individual. It reckons attributes of control and superiority complex that distorts the social setting of the society. 

Despite pride having negative attributes amongst the massive population, it also has some remarkable benefits. Pride counts as one of the healthy building blocks of young children. It helps in boosting their self-esteem. It contributes towards the promotion of their self-worth (Kovecses, 29). Indeed, children need constant affirmation when they have done good things. Occasional praising of children goes a long way in reinforcing their positive character traits.

Consequently, it removes the focus on personal limitations. Ideally, the children should be made of their achievements like winning competitions and obtaining good grades. When these children strive to attain the right qualifications, they set the limits of achievements and self-worth (Graham, 44). Lack of self-worth makes the children feel insecure and inferior. Contrarily, children who are proud of their achievements often feel good and aspire to do more. Praises and recognition from accomplishments inspire children to focus thereby leading to positive self-worth. In essence, fostering pride in young children enhances their development.

In conclusion, the satisfaction arising from achievements denotes the aspect of pride. Pride has its benefits, like setting the standards for operation and helping to inspire an individual to aim even higher. However, pride can be detrimental when it results in the belittling of others. The perception of being better than others denotes the negative attribute of pride. Finally, pride helps in the development of children. However, caregivers must encourage their children for their accomplishments and not let pride get into them.

Works Cited

Graham, S. Children’s developing understanding of the motivational role of affect: An attributional analysis. Cognitive Development, 3, (2020) 71–88.

Heckhausen, Emergent achievement behavior: Some early developments. In J. Nicholls (Ed.), Advances in motivation and achievement: Vol. 3. The development of achievement motivation (pp. 1–32). Greenwich, (2017) CT: JAI Press.

Kovecses, Z. Metaphors of anger, pride, and love: A lexical approach to the structure of concepts. Amsterdam: (2018)Benjamins.