I recognize that I am capable and I do good work….I recognize that there are times when I put in a lot of effort…I recognize that there are times when I come up with creative solutions…I recognize that there are times when I fully engage with the work that I’m doing…And there’s a part of me that wants to be proud of that…There’s a part of me that wants to recognize my effort…There’s a part of me that wants to recognize my expertise…There’s a part of me that wants to recognize my experience…But there is another part of me that thinks that being proud is bad…Being proud as selfish…Being proud is the equivalent of saying I am better than others…Being proud means that I am stealing other people’s attention…I understand why I feel that way…Culturally we appreciate hard work…And humility is valued…Because that is the disposition of our culture…We’ve spent our whole lives being told that being proud is wrong…Being told that pride is being selfish…Being proud is self-indulgent…But that is not the case…Being proud of my effort is good…It helps me to stay motivated…It helps me to keep taking action…It allows me to be a positive model to others…And they can see what is possible…It allows me to demonstrate what I’m good at…So that others can ask me for help in the future…I give myself permission to be proud of my effort…I give myself permission to be proud of my accomplishments…Being proud is a natural and healthy human experience…I can be proud of my effort without being a jerk…I can be proud of my accomplishments without being an egomaniac…I can be proud of myself and still be a good person…There are things that I should be proud of and I give myself permission to experience that pride.