Pride

Believe it or not pride has a lot to do with how we act in relationships.

The question is, when is pride a good or bad thing in a relationship?

I believe that pride is an asset especially in the beginning of a relationship. Your pride helps to hold up your high standards. Pride won’t let you be second place to anyone and therefore reflects yourself worth. This type of pride, demonstrated by love for self, is healthy in the beginning of a relationship.
Pride should be the reason you don’t give too much of yourself too early in the relationship. 

Example: Don’t call or text, let him contact you! Don’t offer to go to his place, let him come to you. Don’t buy him expensive gifts, let him lavish you. The key is to let him express how much he likes you before you reciprocate.

Ladies, even if you are head over heels for a guy, don’t show it! Let your pride hold you back from making yourself vulnerable. Allow the guy to chase you enough before you give in. The disadvantages of lacking Pride and thus giving too much of yourself to early are as follows:

*Men will most likely take advantage of a woman who gives too much too soon and not appreciate her.

*A man is more likely to get tired of women who gives too much.

*Giving too much too soon will NOT advance the relationship compared to a woman who is more reserved.

Now ladies, onto the flip side. If you thought holding on to your pride was hard, letting go of your pride is even harder! Once you are in a long term, loving relationship, knowing when to let go of pride is the tricky part. You must be confident in yourself and in your partner. Letting go of pride requires a mature person. Letting go of pride should be done by a woman who knows where she stands in the relationship and has a mutual emotional dependency with her partner. Love and respect must be unquestionable and in full effect.

Bottom line: Once love is born, pride dies. For those who study love understand that pride is the opposite of love. If you really love someone you will do things that pride once prevented you to do. Consider the deeper things in life you do for love like: forgiveness, affection, acts of service and kindness, give gifts, and use words of endearment.

A Jazz icon that I admire, Sade, states, “Love is stronger than pride.”

My advice is: Let pride go and let love grow!