Address to the Nation: Poisonous Pride

Don’t let pride be your poison.

Let me explain. See, when you have pride in what you do, that means that the name on the back represents the name on the front. That’s a great thing. In any team, in any organisation, that’s great. You want people to show pride in what they do. You want people to show pride in the efforts they put forth.

The actions you take are your personal stamp on the certificate, your stamp on the task, and you should have pride in that, but you don’t want to get prideful. Being prideful is saying the name on the back is bigger than the name on the front.

When you’re prideful, it’s not only poisonous to you; it’s poisonous to the ones around you. Because it doesn’t just affect you. It doesn’t just boost you up, it doesn’t just puff up your chest, but it also stirs everyone around you to not like who you are, to not like what you bring.

Everyone loves a star player, but everyone knows that star player who knows they’re a star player and acts like they’re a star player and treats others as if they’re not. And that is toxic to any organisation.

So, whatever you do, have pride – that’s good. But when you start reading your press clippings and you start thinking, “oh, I’m better than the team”, that’s when the poison sets in, that’s when prideful starts setting in.

And I just want to tell you guys from experience: no one wants to be around a prideful person. No one wants to deal with that, and like they say, pride comes before the fall. So, there will be a fall, there will be a tumble, there will be something that happens if you don’t check your pride. And it’s not a threat, it’s just the facts of life.

So, right now guys, go out there and show pride in everything you do, but make sure you do it with humility. Keep remembering that the name on the back is not bigger than the name on the front, it represents the name on the front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

— JFK