Keeping the right secrets…

Are you keeping the right secrets? Most of us do not because we value our reputation over our character. This is where pride lays it’s first, mostly silent roots. Do you see these roots in you? Are you getting this or deciding now to skip or skim on by? You see, pride is a poison that doesn’t come with a warning label. Pride sneeks up on us in the form of a harmless fourth drink, a slightly larger bet, and a confident attitude that, ever so slightly, crosses the line. Pride is a poison that tastes great on the way up. Pride is a poison, as leaders, we gotta guard against.

You see, it is easy to see pride as a problem for the Roman Empire. It’s not a stretch to see how pride brought down Enron and other corporations. The real problem, however, is personal. The real poison is the one you are currently sipping on and believing you can handle. The real poison is the one you are flirting with and thinking it’s harmless. The real poison is the one you are kinda enjoying even though you know you shouldn’t.

And, the real problem is you are mostly blind to your pride. You, most likely, have built the wrong walls. If you are a normal, mature, adult, you have walled yourself off from truth tellers who could illuminate your blindspot, instead of walling yourself off from your pride. You have over focused on your reputation and forgotten your character. You are building the wrong walls. You just might be keeping the wrong secrets…

When you do something virtuous do you keep it to yourself? When you do something lousy do you quickly come clean? Most humans do just the opposite. Are you keeping the right secrets or are you too proud to look in the mirror and broadcast your mistakes?

Think of pride as your poison. Are you building the right kinda walls. Are you keeping the right secrets…