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Pride goeth before a fall

Posted by Roy Rodieck on July 29, 2005

question: "Pride goeth before a fall". Here's another angle on this that no one seems to have picked up on: Pride is not necessarily a bad thing in that it can be related to self-esteem and can be an elevating and energizing thing if not employed to excess. For example, take Esprit de Corps of a military unit. If something happens to deflate morale of the unit during a battle, they lose a psychological advantage that can lead to defeat. By the same token, an athlete that goes into a contest expecting to lose rather than win will probably lose. In both cases, loss of self-esteem (pride in their ability) goes before a fall. This seems at odds with the conventional wisdom as expressed here, or am I missing something?

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