Pride

Pride is a lofty view of one's self or one's own. Pride often manifests itself as a high opinion of one's nation (national pride), ethnicity (ethnic pride), or appearance and abilities (vanity). Pride is considered a negative attribute by most major world religions, but some philosophies consider it positive. The opposite of pride is humility (Wikipedia 2008).

Ok... forget about all the other bitty things wikipedia went on about. I'm talking about self-pride.

So, is pride a good or a bad thing?
I personally think that if you've accomplished something, you should feel proud of yourself. It does not matter who you are and what you do, whether it was a big accomplishment, or a small one. If you know you've done your best, if you know you gave it all, then go ahead and be proud of yourself. You deserve it. Being proud of yourself just shows that you are satisfied with what you have done.
But Pride happens to be one of the seven deadly sins. I can't see how it's such a deadly sin though... maybe what they meant was excessive Pride up to the point where you believe you're on top of the world, you're the best in everything, you're superior amongst everyone else, and you don't accept any criticism...
But that's extreme... As a matter of fact, self-pride does not have to have any negative implications on anyone else. You are not putting someone else down by being proud of yourself. Being proud does not imply that you are superior, nor does it imply that you're THE best. It just means you're happy with what you have accomplished... Right?

In Buddhism, Pride is seen as illogical as no one person or thing can be better or worse than something or someone else (Wikipedia 2008).

Maybe my understanding of what 'pride' means may be wrong.... Maybe what i'm referring to really is just 'self satisfaction'...
Oh well.

Here are a couple of quotes I found (By people I don't even know)...

"Always be proud of yourself and understand that it's your individuality that makes you beautiful." - Mark Feehily

(I especially like this one):
"Great champions have an enormous sense of pride. The people who excel are those who are driven to show the world and prove to themselves just how good they are."- Nancy Lopez
It just makes sense...