Pride is scarcity

 Read the title carefully. It doesn't say "pride is scarce".

Pride is certainly not scarce. It's all too common among all categories, classes, and types of people. From the extremely rich to the poorer-than-dirt, pride infiltrates, infects, and infests many of the human race.

Pride is evident is all races, ethnicities, religions, movements, nationalities, genders, ages, groups, etc.

Is pride ever good?

There's a single verse in the Book of Mormon that implies there must be some level of pride that is acceptable. It's during a discourse Nephi gives to a multitude who had gathered outside his garden tower. He rebukes them for their pride, their desire to "get gain" and "be praised of men", and for setting their hearts on the riches and vain things of the world. He calls them to repentance and to return to God. And he warns them of impending destruction because they had united with secret combinations and allowed wickedness and abominations to come among them. 

The one verse is in Helaman 7:26.

Yea, wo shall come unto you because of that pride which ye have suffered to enter your hearts, which has lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches!

The phrase that implies there is some level of good pride is "beyond that which is good".

That single phrase is key. The question is, where is the level that is good?

In my opinion, anytime you compare yourself to someone else in some way is indicative of pride growing to a point that is beyond good.

Comparisons can be positive or negative.

Racism is pride, as it compares one race to another, usually implying that one side is better or worse off in some way, for some reason. 

It's not just racism. Any group (which includes any category, class, or type, which also includes movements) which sets itself apart from another, usually accentuating why they are better, is exhibiting pride that isn't good. 

Even groups that are biased against can be prideful. This could be demands of special treatment or protections from governing bodies that ends up setting the group apart (and often above others in the eyes of the law), and may include unequal retribution against their offenders. 

Pride is seen among the poor who are entitled and think they deserve to be given things, that wealth should be forcefully taken from the rich and distributed freely among the poor.

Pride is not scarce. It's everywhere.

But the pride mindset is one of scarcity. Those who are proud feel that they are lacking. 

Even in the most wealthy, who have what most would see as material abundance, pride is scarcity. 

Why do so many of the extraordinarily wealthy want more wealth? For most is not usually to do more good. It's because they feel something is missing, something is lacking in their lives, and the think having more money will fill that void.

Comparisons accentuate in the mind differences, they highlight what is lacking. It's scarcity.

Scarcity is fear. It hurts. So, what do most people do when something hurts? They try to stop the pain in whatever way they can, whether it's to take things away, put others down. They might point out how it's not fair or equal.

Did you notice something? Scarcity is a negative emotion. It feeds negative energy and fuels other negative emotions, all of which can contribute to pride.

And pride leads to hate, anger, and, if it's not checked, to violence and the loss of feeling. Anger is the tipping point and can lead to destruction.

While there are a lot of things that we can do to help bring pride back down to what is good, one of the biggest things is to be more grateful.

Being, and truly feeling, grateful helps us be aware of what is good. It helps us change our focus from lack, from scarcity, to abundance and the acknowledgement of the good in our lives.

Things won't change overnight. Or even in a week or two. But persistent, consistent gratitude does help us to change our perception.

Here's your challenge. For the next 30 days do these two things every day.

1. First, take a walk for at least 5 minutes (10-15 is better) and while you walk verbally express gratitude for everything that you can. Start with yourself (maybe your health, talents, abilities), move to family, friends, and then out into your life. Really try to feel the good emotions associated with what you're grateful for, let those feelings come. And you don't have to talk loud, just enough for you to hear yourself.
2. Second, write down at least 10 things you are grateful for. Try to move from just creating a list to actually writing out a sentence, maybe identifying why your grateful for each thing.

Here's what I discovered as I went through 30 days, and then continued on into several months now. The reality of life may not change drastically, but over time your perception does. 

As more positive emotion is used in expressing gratitude, more positive energy comes into life. It becomes easier to see the good when that is what you focus on. Now, instead of a short list, my gratitude journal entries often take me 15 minutes or more and I usually have to cut myself off because I need to get ready for work (I do these two things every morning, although since I started they've changed a bit).

There are other things that can be done to help shift our mindsets from scarcity to abundance, but expressing true gratitude is key to seeing and acknowledging the abundance each of us already have.