When Pride Feels Like Power But Quietly Blocks Your Growth
By Micaela Passeri
There’s a version of pride that feels empowering. It helps you rise. It anchors you in your truth. It reminds you that you’ve worked hard to be where you are. But there’s another version of pride that is far more subtle—and far more limiting. It’s the pride that builds walls. The kind that keeps you from asking for help, admitting uncertainty, or letting yourself be seen fully. It doesn’t shout. It whispers: “I’ve got this.” Even when deep down, you’re exhausted. It doesn’t collapse. It holds it together, because you’ve learned that showing vulnerability could be misunderstood as weakness. But the truth is: when pride becomes armor, it no longer protects your power. It begins to block it.
When Pride Stops Empowering and Starts Protecting
In the journey of building a business, growing a career, or leading a community, pride often starts as a strength. It helps us hold boundaries, speak up, and lead with conviction.
But over time, especially for women who have had to navigate bias, judgment, or pressure to “prove themselves,” pride can quietly shift.
Instead of supporting you, it starts shielding you.
You may notice it in small ways:
- Dismissing support because “you can do it yourself”
- Feeling triggered by feedback that questions your approach
- Avoiding vulnerable conversations with your team or clients
- Insisting on your way, even when it’s costing you energy or connection
- Silently judging others who do things differently
These reactions aren’t flaws.
They’re signs that a part of you is still protecting your worth, still afraid of what might happen if you let go of control.
The Feminine Cost of Over-Proving
As women, especially in business, we’re often told to stand tall, be strong, own the room.
And we do.
But what happens when strength becomes performance?
When pride becomes a way to avoid discomfort, tenderness, or truth?
We disconnect.
From ourselves.
From our intuition.
From the very relationships that could support us the most.
We begin to equate openness with risk.
And in doing so, we isolate ourselves—not just from others, but from deeper growth.
True Confidence Doesn’t Defend. It Connects.
There’s a shift that happens when a woman stops needing to prove her strength and simply chooses to own it.
It looks like:
- Welcoming feedback with curiosity, not defensiveness
- Asking for help without guilt
- Softening without losing authority
- Leading with empathy instead of performance
- Releasing the need to always “get it right”
True confidence isn’t loud. It’s deeply grounded.
It doesn’t build walls—it builds bridges.
It doesn’t isolate—it invites collaboration.
And that kind of leadership doesn’t just expand your business.
It transforms your life.
Letting Go of Pride Doesn’t Make You Smaller, It Makes You More Whole
You don’t have to choose between being powerful and being human.
You can be ambitious and ask for support.
You can be competent and have moments of doubt.
You can lead with certainty and remain open to learning.
In my work with women around the world, I help them shift from proving to embodying.
From guarded success to authentic influence.
From emotional resistance to emotional intelligence.
Because the kind of woman who changes the world doesn’t protect her growth—she honors it.
If You Feel Stuck, Ask Yourself: Is Pride Leading or Supporting Me?
If you’ve been experiencing friction in your work, resistance in your relationships, or a nagging sense that something is “off,” this might be your invitation.
To soften.
To listen.
To lead differently.
Pride may have gotten you here.
But presence is what will carry you forward.
You don’t need to stay in “prove” mode.
You’re already worthy.
If this resonates, I invite you to connect.
You don’t have to grow through protection.
You can grow through powerful presence, feminine grace, and emotional truth.
