Do you know a guy who seems to have an answer to any and every question? Think about an experience you have had with him or her. You ask him something and he always has an answer.

But do you ever wonder if the answer is correct? Or is it just something he made up on the spot and presented with confidence?

It’s like he can’t just say, “I don’t know.”

This is a telltale symptom of — you guessed it — pride.

I see a woman throwing verbal jabs at her husband across the dinner, flaunting her superiority in the relationship. A wedge is driven further between them. What long term results will this have on their marriage?

I see a man with no time and barely any money for his family. His skills are in high demand, yet he charges too little and takes the worst jobs because he has no self esteem. How much would loving himself change things?

I just can’t stop seeing things through the lens of pride. It’s sad.

But you know what? It’s needs to get worse before it gets better.

It seems people encourage each other to do what they are doing. If you join a gym, you might urge a coworker to join as well. This makes enough sense. You enjoy something so you try to be considerate and share it with others.

This is best done with a sense of empathy and sincerity. The problem occurs when someone pushes their preferences too much — like when I was endlessly heckled for not having a new car. Not exactly empathy, is it?

Wife and I love our 2002 Saab 9-3. It runs well, it’s paid for, and it’s exactly what we need and want in a vehicle right now. If you think about it from our perspective, you understand. This is empathy.

But I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been pressured to buy a brand new car by peers. It’s sad.

Both ends of the pride spectrum have their defenders of the faith — the resistors.

What are they defending? Homeostasis — tradition and familiarity.

“Why you do it this way?” you ask. “We’ve always done it like that,” is the reply from the resistors.

This isn’t an answer — it’s just an excuse.

Isn’t it interesting how some people try to make everyone else just like them? And how they challenge anything which doesn’t fit with their mindset?

They seem bent on keeping the status quo at all costs. They don’t like change, and they will resist anything different or otherwise uncomfortable.

Let’s call them resistors.

Resistors are quite annoying, honestly.