You know how good it feels when after many weeks or even months your customer approves a project you and your whole team worked so hard on? You feel so proud of the work you have done together. But all these great feelings can be quickly spoiled if there is only one guy in your team, who is full of arrogance telling your customer what a great job he did.

Pride and arrogance: there are two different emotional states which are divided only by a thin line. Here’s how to spot the difference between the two (and not to enter the field of arrogance):

1. Proud people are always confident while arrogant people are unsecure

Proud people know what they do. They are usually masters of their profession and they always like to do things properly. They don’t want to mess around and they definitely can’t stand time-wasters.

Arrogant people often use their arrogance to cover their sloppiness and inability to cope with the task. Deep inside, they know they are not able to do the thing they are doing. They are full of doubts.

It is scientifically proven that arrogant people are prone to shame.

2. Proud people use their language wisely while arrogant people usually use strong language

Pride people always talk wisely and there are two main reasons for it:

a) they always talk from their own experience
b) they regularly work on themselves, controlling their thoughts.

They know their pride is coming from those two things so it is natural for them to speak positively and inspiring to others.

Arrogance has its seeds in an inability to control the mind. So if an arrogant person wants to make an impression on others he will most likely use strong language, including swearing.

3. Proud people think all people deserve to be treated equally while arrogant people think they are better than others

A psychological study carried out on children aged between 7 and 11 by the University of Amsterdam and Ohio State University showed that children who were told by their parents that they are better than others developed a strong narcissistic personality.

Pride people have high self-esteem but still think they are as good as others.

4. Proud people are like owls while arrogant people are like frightened dogs

When does a dog bite? It bites when fearing someone because it wants to protect itself. And that is the same situation when some people are using their arrogance: in the moments of fear of losing something.

Proud people have the attitude of owls with their inner peace. They know how to control their emotions so they seem to be always in control of the situation they are in.

5. Proud people look at hard work as their way to success while arrogant people are only opportunity seekers

Studies show that proud people are achievement-oriented viewing their hard work as the key to their success. They highly rely on themselves whilst always prepared to listen to other people’s advice.

On the other hand, arrogant people view success as pure luck so they are always on the run for the next best opportunity.

6. Proud people always praise their team while arrogant people want to take all the credits for the job

Proud people know the power rests in the teamwork so they always praise all their colleagues. They know that by doing so they lose nothing but only empower the people around them.

Arrogant people think only of their own success. When they work in a team, after the task is completed they are first on the stage to take the prize for it.

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7. Proud people really know themselves well while people arrogant don’t

Psychological studies show that people with the pride have genuine self-esteem coming out of knowing themselves well. They know what they are capable of and how to control their emotions.

Arrogance is actually ignorance of knowledge.

8. Proud people wisely consider other people’s opinions while arrogant people can’t stand any criticism

If pride people find out they are wrong, they will have no problem of confessing their mistake and trying to correct it while arrogant people will do just anything to prove they are right.

9. Proud people don’t have a need to impress anybody while arrogant people have a constant urge to do so

Have you ever been in a group of people where there was a man or a woman who didn’t talk too much, but you felt a great energy coming out of him or her? And when you started talking with them, you didn’t want to leave, being pulled by their great personality? Pride people are not starving for other people’s attention, they simply attract it with their presence.

Arrogant people work hard to impress others so they are usually the loudest ones in the group. They don’t have any boundaries for achieving their goal: if there is a chance to make a joke about someone they won’t think twice to do so.

10. Proud people can work well in just any organization while arrogant people work best only in hierarchical systems

Proud people respect others, so they can work with many different people. They don’t fear somebody will take their position because they strongly believe in themselves.

On the other hand, arrogant people need a safe place to work from. And where is the perfect place for arrogance to flourish? In any hierarchical system where roles are well defined. Your boss can yell at you (if you are so unlucky to have an arrogant boss) only because of his position.

Be proud of yourself, constantly work on being the best version of yourself but never cross the line to arrogance by thinking somebody else is less important than you just because he might be doing a ‘seemingly’ less important task.

As long as you give 100% to whatever you do you can be a really proud person!