Just Let Go:15 Ways to Master the Art of Swallowing Your Pride

It’s happened to all of us. At some point or another, we’ve had a time in our lives when we’ve made a messy mistake. It’s never easy to swallow your pride and admit you’ve made an error, but if you learn from it, you can make the situation better for everyone involved. As art critic John Ruskin famously said,“It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride.” Knowing that you should apologize and make amends is one thing, but actually doing so is another task entirely, and it’s often harder than we realize. They key is getting over your ego in order to move forward so that you can do better next time. To help you, here are 15 ways to master the art of swallowing your pride.

1. Meditate

To really swallow your pride, you need to start by clearing your mind and focusing on your breath for a while. A clearer head will help you handle the situation more calmly.

2. Change Perspective

Allow the others involved to share their thoughts and feelings. Then you’ll be able to put yourself in their shoes and see the situation from their point of view.

3. Think Ahead

Contemplate the future and determine what the best end result will be. It may be hard to compromise and you may think your way is right, but really stop to consider the outcome. You might not get there if you’re not prepared to compromise.

4. Don’t Let Emotions Take Over

When we feel hurt, we tend to lash out. Instead of saying something you’ll regret, walk away for a bit and think before you speak.

5. Don’t Wallow

Think the situation through and then learn from it and move on. Don’t allow the issue to invade your thoughts day and night after you’ve made amends.

6. Be Smart

You may want to solve a problem immediately by voicing your opinions and letting everyone else know what you think. Instead of coming across as obnoxious or arrogant, take a moment, swallow your pride and think things through before sharing.

7. Avoid Being Passive-Aggressive

Hurt feelings and resentment can lead to passive-aggressive behavior. Instead of ignoring your mistakes, address any damage you’ve inadvertently caused and address issues head on.

8. Make the First Move

Meeting in the middle can be difficult. Especially if you’ve had an oops, make the first move to show that you want to try and fix the situation.

9. Love & Let Go

To swallow your pride you first need to remember that love is too precious to be lost to anger, bruised egos or hurt feelings. Let go of your pride in favor of saving a relationship. Always.

10. Rise Above It

You are bigger than whatever situation you’re facing. Know that this too shall pass and eventually you’ll come out smarter and stronger.

11. Preserve Relationships

If your pride is bruised, it doesn’t mean the relationship is over. It’s inevitable that friends, family and loved ones will hurt one other from time to time. Just remember that relationships are always more important than your pride.

12. Let Bitterness Go

To swallow pride, let go of bitterness and resentment. We’ve all been there, we’ve all had it, ain’t nobody got time for that. Remember that if you swallow your pride, you make more space in your life for positive emotions to emerge.

13. Sometimes You’re Wrong

Even if, historically, you are right 99% of the time, there will inevitably that one time in a hundred that you are wrong. Own up to it and learn from it.

14. Project Love

We’re taking a lesson from southern belles who have a way of giving love, even when they may want to wring your neck. You always catch more flies with honey than vinegar y’all.

15. It’s Not All About You

Recognize that your mistake might feel like the end of your world but, in reality, it’s a blip on most people’s radar.Sometimes a little perspective is all you need to swallow your pride, say you’re sorry, fix the mess you made and move on to something even better.

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