I feel strongly that pride is an asset! Pride in self, ownership, a job well done etc. There is nothing wrong in taking credit for the good we do when it's balanced out with owning our shit too. I've long felt that religion is a direct cause of people's growing insecurities. We all feel better about ourselves when we do well, behave well, and accomplish things. Giving all the credit to god takes away our glory and I've yet to meet a good father who feels it's best for their kid to give them the credit.

Like almost anything else, a useful thing when not taken to extremes.

It depends on what you are proud of. Pride in accomplishments is ok, but pride in things you have no control over can be dangerous.

When I was religious I had no pride. I was a mess. After getting out I reversed myself and started taking pride in everything in my life. Life got so much better. I don't think I'm better than anyone else but if you don't take pride in what you do and what you have you have little purpose in life.

Pride is an intrinsic part of self esteem. My perspective on this is that we should certainly celebrate our accomplishments, our jobs well done, our ideas that seem to work. I think that it only becomes a problem when we don't know when and how to express it, both to ourselves and those around us. We all do, think, and say things we are not proud of, even sometimes bring shame upon ourselves. If we have nothing to help offset that, depression is sure to set in.

I tend to beat myself up sometimes when something has not gone right, or has turned out badly, or when I do something I think was shear knuckleheaded dumb. Fortunately, I learned how to keep it at a constructive level rather than beating myself to a pulp -- though there are times when I'm tempted to 'go all the way' with my mental self flagellation. Not good for the health of the self.

Oh how good it feels when something goes as planned, or my writing has pleased someone, or I've helped someone solve a problem. That feeling makes life more of a joy and goes a long way in making my last fool's errand less painful.

Pride can also be destructive, or at least make one out to be the village's number one asshole. I'm not talking about someone whose narcissism fills him/her with false pride, but someone who is justifiably proud of something and pounds the local populace with something akin to gloating. No matter how true it is, it just makes one sound like a jerk. I guess in the final analysis it actually makes one a bona fide jerk.

This is a rather interesting paper:

[ubc-emotionlab.ca]

I think there's a difference between "pride" and "hubris." One pushes you to be happy about what you're doing and to want to make it the best it can be. The other thinks it's far too important to worry about making itself better.

Pride is a good thing, but being boastful is another. One can be proud of their actions. Don't hold it over peoples heads, or use it to look down on another person.

....comes before a fall I was always told

Healthy self-esteem and self-appreciation are good things. Arrogance--which usually denotes deep INsecurity, actually--is not.

The Judeo-Christian religions want their followers to be meek and obedient, which is why they call pride a sin. They're wrong.