While “pride” is often used as the opposite of “humility”---which I think is maybe what you're getting at here---I don't think pride is always the opposite of h

While “pride” is often used as the opposite of “humility”---which I think is maybe what you're getting at here---I don't think pride is always the opposite of humility. In particular, I think the word can mean many things, and the meaning you're using isn't the one that's often used as the opposite of humility. Fundamentally, I agree that you should be proud of what you've done, even if 10X awesome dude at Google could have done better. For one thing, 10X awesome dude at Google is surrounded by other Google folks, and by 15+ years of Google technology. There's being aware that there are better possibilities out there---indeed, being interested in them and even thirsty to learn more about them---and there's being embarrassed about what you've done. You can be interested in the crazy things some people do and want to learn more about those things while still working at a smaller, more limited scope and being proud of what you achieve with what you've got. The latter is how you get confidence, the former is how you get humility. In short, I think we're probably saying the same thing. When you build a thing, you should be proud of that thing---unless you deliberately cut corners for some other tradeoff, in which case you should be cognizant of why you did it and satisfied with the tradeoffs you made. But that doesn't mean you have to think there's no better way, nor even that you have to avoid looking into those better ways. Often, I think these things (thinking there's no better way, not looking for improvements) are what people mean when they refer to folks who aren't humble. Certainly, that's what I mean.