Do You Want to Be Proud or Popular? by Frank Sonnenberg

What’s more important than liking yourself and feeling content with who you are and what you do? That doesn’t happen by accident. If you want to feel proud, you must earn it. This requires a conscious effort to choose a path that fosters pride and self-respect. Some believe wealth, power, and status are the key to that end. The fact is, achieving genuine fulfillment requires deliberate choices — a commitment to strong moral character, steadfast personal values, and taking full responsibility for your actions. Ultimately, it’s a test where you grade your own paper. You’ll know if you’ve earned it — and if you have, the rewards will be immeasurable. Do you want to be proud or popular?

Inner peace outshines any external applause.

20 Ways to Make Yourself Proud

Building a life you can be proud of takes more than just going with the flow. Here are 20 actions to help you cultivate self-respect in the life you’ve created:

Be a good person. Define success as being more rather than having more.

Control your future. Take ownership of your life decisions rather than relinquishing that responsibility to others.

Make your priorities a priority. Focus on what matters most to you. Trying too hard to please others or gain acceptance can lead to neglecting your own needs.

Set a high standard of excellence. Raise the bar. Mediocrity is a choice — choose to say “No!”

Strive to get better every day. Keep learning — even when you’re busy.

Pay the price of success. Everything worthwhile in life requires some sacrifice. Judge your successes by the sacrifices made to achieve them.

Try your best. You don’t have to win first place. If you do your best, you’re still a winner.

Nurture healthy relationships. Invest in relationships to avoid the time spent repairing them. Strive for win-win outcomes, not winner takes all.

Speak your mind. Stand up against immorality and injustice.

Confront your problems directly. Run toward them, not away from them.

Be resilient. There will be times when your determination is tested. Stay strong. If you believe you can’t, you won’t.

Enjoy the journey, not just the prize. When you do something for satisfaction rather than reward, the reward is often the satisfaction of doing it.

Earn your recognition. You get what you deserve, not what you want.

Foster balance in every aspect of your life. Prioritize both work and family, as each is essential to your overall happiness.

Hold your head high. It’s easy to shine when times are good, but your true character is revealed when times are tough.

Live with purpose and make your soul smile. Find your purpose and live for something greater than yourself.

Live an honorable life. Care not just about where life takes you, but also about how you get there.

Listen to your conscience. Knowing what’s right is less important than doing what’s right. Choose what’s right, not what’s popular.

Make a difference. You can either improve someone else’s life or find ways to enhance your own. As the old proverb says, “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”

Be authentic. Embrace who you are. Seeking acceptance should never outweigh self-acceptance.

Choose Pride Over Approval

Your path in life is yours to choose — whether to follow the honorable route or take the less virtuous path. Some knowingly cheat to get ahead, treat others with disrespect, and compromise their principles without hesitation. Others do the bare minimum and still expect rewards without earning them. Despite having the power to change, they justify their actions with wealth, power, and status. Yet, despite all the trappings of success, are they truly proud of who they are?

Success isn’t just about what you achieve; it’s about how you achieve it. What do your actions say about you? Ask yourself: Am I a good person? Am I proud of how I live? Would I want to be friends with me? Would I be proud if my children followed my example? Though others may envy your achievements, deep down, you may neither like nor respect yourself.

However, doing what’s right is easier said than done.

It’s tough to stay levelheaded in hard times, to push forward when every part of you says “no,” and to stand your ground when popular opinion opposes you. You may face bullying, ridicule, cancellation, or even punishment for doing the right thing. But the rewards far outweigh the cost.

When you live with honor and uphold a standard of excellence, you can hold your head high, maintain a clear conscience, and sleep soundly. By leading through example, your actions will inspire others and play a role in making the world better for the next generation. You are the author of your own story. Take pride in the way you live, for true inner peace comes from self-approval, not the approval of the crowd. Do you want to be proud or popular?