December 16, 2014 - Written by: Lauren Williams

On Not Letting Pride Get in the Way of Happiness

I recently made a move to Scotland to chase my dreams of climbing mountains as much as possible. Instead, I found myself working all day every day and couldn’t even muster the energy to get up and go outside when I wasn’t working.

This was not me. I am productive and outdoorsy and happy. I am not the type of girl who sleeps until 2pm and eats leftover chips for dinner.

I was determined to stay in Scotland because well, there was a reason I was there. There was a reason that I had placed myself in the highlands – I wanted isolation and fresh air. What I didn’t want was to be cooped up and close to tears almost every day.

It came to the point where I had to suck it up and admit that I had made a very wrong decision and that I just wanted to go home.

The thing about pride is that it is an oddly satisfying emotion, even if it is tearing us down from the inside, it makes us smug and it gives use a story. Fortunately, the ‘oh you know, even though I only got out hiking twice in Scotland, I still earned a lot of money’ wasn’t one I wanted to tell, however bittersweet. The reality was that I hated it and I wanted to come home.

Yes, I want to write, climb up big hills, be outdoors and travel the world but why can’t I be based in my favourite place in the whole world?

It has taken a lot of time for me to realise that there really is no place like home and however much I love to get away, my base must be in Cornwall. Well my stuff at least, these boots were made for walking after all.

(Image via)

But it’s not just work and travel that pride can get in the way of, but relationships with friends, family and potential other halves. In order to be happy, getting over that pride is essential.

From this little episode in Scotland, I have learnt that it’s about knowing when to get out when something is poisoning your well being.

Sod the pride and tell your ego to do one – if something is no longer making you happy, then get out before it’s too late.

Ultimately, what felt like giving up was a lesson in both humility and self-respect.

By leaving a place and a job that was bringing me down, I learned that I respect myself far too much to stick something out for the hell of it.

Some may call that character building, I call it stupidity. I mean, making yourself unhappy just for the sake of making a point is going to get you nowhere in life.

Sometimes, giving up is ok. And sometimes, having to give up on something is just the lesson you need to learn.

If you enjoyed this article, why not check out ‘The Q-Word: Why ‘Never Give Up’ Isn’t the Best Advice’?