Pride Won’t Let You Learn
The way pride is ingrained in those who exhibit this sheer arrogance is that it’s convoluted with a hint of ignorance and a dash of recklessness. In a less complicated sentence, proud people are ignorant of the consequences of their speech or actions.
Most people think of learning as a one-way journey but learning isn’t the same as acquiring information or being knowledgeable about a subject matter.
Learning is an experience — for you to be learned means you know, you act, you generate results, you tweak appropriately and you repeat until you reach a state of equilibrium.
In a world where everyone is a life-long learner, very few are having an experiential exposure to the things they have become aware of. You may know of financial intelligence but you only would have learnt it if you’re indeed financially intelligent (this, your pocket will tell us not the words of your mouth.)
Knowledge is puffed up. Knowing about something makes you feel so at home whenever it’s brought up. It gets so bad for some of us that we stop spending time preparing and improving because we’re sure that we know.
Pride comes as a result of knowledge and confidence. You know what you know and no one can take away that knowledge. That knowledge boosts your confidence level and you’re ready to take on the world but pride wants you to take a piss on the world regardless of the beauty other people are trying to create on its canvas.
For you to learn a thing, you’d have to come to terms with the fact that you haven’t experienced it. You might have heard and read about it, but you haven’t had a real-time meet with it and pride won’t let you think this.
Pride confuses ignorance as just a lack of knowledge issue. But real intelligence knows ignorance is also inadequate information or knowledge. Ignorance is knowledge that isn’t yielding appropriate results.
If there’s anything you know about, have read about or are studying that isn’t generating your envisioned consequence, there’s an ignorance gap and pride might not let you accept this sheer and cold truth.
So, you keep feeding yourself with more updates and latest information thinking that staying in touch would somehow create that learning experience but by the time you’d found that you were wrong, the guy you think lacks self-esteem is far gone because he was humble enough to accept his ignorance and put himself to learning.
The truth about this is that it isn’t only job or skills related; even those mindsets and worldviews you hold would remain the same for as long as you live if you don’t step out of what you think you know and put yourself to learn what is happening.
People hold different opinions of different things — from frivolous disputes such as being a vegetarian to grander matters such as providing for their aged parents and they are only one learning experience away to coming to a working formula.
I don’t believe in everyone living their truths — my thought on this is people come to terms with the things they have learnt and term it “safe space”, they stay there and want others to accept this half-baked and one-sided versions of their lives. And because we live in a connected world, people can’t mind their businesses.
Don’t let pride shut the door against the life you really want. Call for help, heck! Scream for it. Get on your knees, put on your dungarees, get your hands dirty and get to work. Call up someone to teach you if you can. Pay for that workshop to learn that skill that you know is relevant for where you’re going. Pay for that consulting session. Send that email. Do the internship. Speak to someone about the challenges you’re facing.
In the words of Maria Forleo, everything is figureoutable, but the caveat is for only those who are willing to set pride aside and learn.
Pride can only get you as far as it can but not as far as you want. You’re struggling because there’s something or a bunch of stuff you’re yet to learn and that’s okay.
What’s not okay is to be okay with not knowing how to navigate from where you are to where you’re going.
