I'm taking a course on Gamification - Creating Addictive User Experiences, and one of the topics was pride, so I thought to share how I perceive it.

As much as we feel pride is a sin, I still think it can significantly help creatives. Most people believe being humble necessitates caution, and allowing yourself to feel proud requires shortchanging your guard, making you ripe for a harsh reprisal for daring to be "arrogant." However, that needs to be taken with a grain of salt. If it weren't for pride, many creatives would be okay to pass off mediocre content. Competition would also be a myth, as everyone would be satisfied to consume whatever was pushed down their throats.

The word "Fiero: means Pride in Italy, and pride is the emotional high that comes from triumphing over adversity. Everyone has had a moment of Fiero at a certain stage of their lives, if not every day. When you watch a gamer play, and they start to throw their hands up in the air cheering, then you've witnessed Fiero at play. It could be because they just crossed a hard stage or killed a monster character the size of a house. That sudden realization of the opportunity to advance create the "Yessss" feeling.

For Devs, Fiero is the antidote to your sudden "Yess" moment surge of pride, meaning you will never have to waste time debugging that line of code again or for designers trying to figure out which keyframe to animate. That feeling of triumph is more than tonic.- it's addictive. Pride can be expressed in different ways & for creatives, it's showing off their works and what they've been able to achieve. Pride in this context can be viewed as satisfaction which is one of the most potent neurochemical reactions in the brain perceived by humans. "Fiero" may have been the motivating force behind man's intent to quit the cave and venture into the outside world. It's the incentive for overcoming a task. The more complex a challenge we overcome, the more "Fiero" we experience.

I"ll end with the words of the famous graphic designer and oscar-winning filmmaker Saul Bass, "Make beautiful things, even if nobody cares."

Show off your work, for that will give you the zeal and fiero to do more. Pride may be a Biblical sin, yet pride in our work and play is what makes us human and gives us a sense of accomplishment. If you can summon that sense of pride (also known as 'Fiero'), you'll be in good shape.

I am Anierobi Kelvin Anionwu, a product designer who enjoys solving complex problems with designs. I'm excited to assist budding entrepreneurs in scaling & delivering excellent products.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.