Safeguarding Luck with Self-Respect
It is always unlucky to forfeit self-respect. The test of self-respect is especially important when chance demands an instantaneous decision and allows no time for judgment to probe and consider.
It is not always easy to tell which course of action in a complex situation will best maintain self-respect. And, curiously enough, some people even shrug at the term self-respect, failing to realize the decisive role it plays in good luck. They think that enjoying life is the only measure of success. The stifling of conscience, however, means that the psychic trouble within us seeks other outlets, such as the warping of the personality through neurotic fear or vicious criticism.
At the same time, there can be no doubt that self-respecting behavior frequently results in strong new luck-lines, over which material benefits flow. For example, the courage displayed by an act of selfless honesty, such as owning up to a serious mistake and not letting others take the fall for it, often marks someone as accountable and deserving of trust with serious responsibilities.
It is never too late to reaffirm self-respect. Fortunately for us, the occasional violence we do to our self-respect is only occasional. A single self-respecting action, taken when the personality was in danger of becoming permanently enfeebled, can perform a miracle of regeneration.
At this point a warning should be posted. It is easy to confuse self-respect with pride—and pride is a positively unlucky trait. In contrast to self-respect, pride—whether over origin, beauty, position, achievement, or anything else—is fundamentally an expression of insecurity, with its roots in illusion. It is a sign that someone is trying to cover up a feeling of spiritual weakness by pointing to a superficial advantage or external superiority.
When we sharply separate self-respect from pride and vanity, it serves us best in the selection and rejection of chances.