What Pride Forgets

"There is a certain kind of pride which is not a vice. It is a feeling of pleasure in a job well done, or satisfaction with one's own good choices. We can experience it toward ourselves, the way we do when we perform good work, or toward others, the way parents often do toward their children."

"There is second kind of pride, which is a character deficiency. It consists of overvaluing oneself, or of aiming higher than what one really is. It is mistaken about its capabilities and its importance, as compared to others, and its striving is insatiable. Pride has an inordinate desire for its own excellence, which crowds out worthier goods."

Running frequently humbles athletes through falls, losses, and unmet goals, yet pride remains a significant pitfall worth examining. Two types of pride exist: legitimate satisfaction from good work and effort, and a character deficiency involving overvaluation of oneself and capabilities. The second form of pride consists of mistaken self-assessment, insatiable striving, and an inordinate desire for excellence that displaces more worthwhile values. This destructive pride causes runners to exceed their actual abilities, make poor decisions during races, and ignore physical and mental limitations. Understanding pride's nature and consequences helps runners recognize and counteract this tendency, improving both performance and decision-making during endurance events.

Read at iRunFar