How to Read “Pride is the dead end of success”
こうまんはしゅっせのいきどまり
Meaning of “Pride is the dead end of success”
This proverb means that people with arrogant attitudes cannot achieve further success or promotion, no matter how talented or capable they are.
Proud people tend to overestimate themselves and look down on others. This attitude creates resentment among those around them and makes cooperation impossible.
In workplaces and organizations, you need trust from your boss, cooperation from colleagues, and respect from subordinates to advance to positions with greater responsibility.
However, proud people show off their achievements and dismiss others’ contributions. This damages their relationships over time.
As a result, they don’t get recommended for opportunities. They get excluded from important projects and lose chances for promotion.
Even today, this proverb remains important in our merit-based society. It teaches that even capable people will lose support and stop growing in their careers if they lose their humility.
Origin and Etymology
The exact first appearance of this proverb in literature is unclear. However, similar expressions appear in moral teachings and instructional books from the Edo period.
This suggests the wisdom was already shared among people by that time.
The word “kōman” (pride) comes from Buddhist terminology. It has long been rooted in Japanese spirituality as a teaching against arrogance and conceit.
Meanwhile, “shusse” (success) originally meant achieving enlightenment and leaving the secular world in Buddhism. During the Edo period, it came to mean advancement in social status for samurai and merchants.
The background of this proverb likely lies in the complex human relationships of Edo period class society.
For both samurai and merchants, maintaining smooth relationships with superiors, business partners, and colleagues was key to advancement.
No matter how capable someone was, if they earned resentment through arrogant behavior, they couldn’t get recommendations or patronage. Their path to promotion would be blocked.
People who witnessed this reality crystallized this lesson into words.
The expression “ikidomari” (dead end) is also striking. This word describes a road that breaks off partway, making further progress impossible.
It contains a strong warning that pride doesn’t just delay success—it completely closes off possibilities.
Usage Examples
- 彼は実力はあるけど態度が横柄だから、高慢は出世の行き止まりで、もう昇進は難しいだろうね
- 若手の頃から謙虚でいることが大切だよ、高慢は出世の行き止まりって言うからね
Universal Wisdom
Why do people become proud when they succeed? It’s because they fall into the illusion that they achieved success through their own power alone.
But in reality, any success is the result of support and cooperation from others, and sometimes fortunate coincidences.
This proverb has been passed down because it sees through an essential human weakness. When we accumulate successful experiences, our self-evaluation inflates and we tend to forget gratitude toward others.
Without realizing it, we start treating people around us with disrespect.
What’s interesting is the mechanism by which pride leads to self-destruction. Proud people don’t accept advice from those better than themselves, losing opportunities for new learning.
They dismiss opinions from subordinates and colleagues, so important information stops reaching them.
Most critically, people around them stop actively cooperating.
Human society is built on mutual dependence. No matter how excellent an individual is, they cannot accomplish great things alone.
Our ancestors deeply understood this essential nature of society. That’s why they tried to pass down to future generations through this proverb that humility is the key to sustained success.
Pride may bring temporary satisfaction, but in the long term it narrows your own possibilities. This is wisdom about human nature that transcends time.
When AI Hears This
When you view an organization as an information network, you can see how proud people turn themselves into “information islands.”
In network theory, people connected to many others have high “degree centrality” and hold influence. However, proud people cut off their own information input channels by not listening to opinions from subordinates and colleagues.
Even more interesting is the perspective of “entropy” in information theory. For an organization to function properly, it needs unpredictable new information—high-entropy information.
But proud people believe only their own thoughts are correct, so the diversity of information they receive drops extremely low.
In other words, they fall into a low-entropy state and become unable to respond to environmental changes.
Actual network research shows that when a hub person malfunctions, the impact spreads exponentially.
Under a proud boss, subordinates also start avoiding information sharing, and the organization’s overall information flow decreases rapidly. This resembles a phenomenon called “cascade failure.”
In other words, pride is a switch that disconnects you from the information network. In the ecosystem of an organization, nutrition doesn’t reach places where information doesn’t flow.
The dead end of success could be said to mean informational death.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches us today is that true ability consists of two wheels: capability and character.
No matter how excellent your skills are, without the humility to support them, you cannot hope for long-term success.
In modern society, there’s a trend that emphasizes self-promotion through social media and other platforms. However, balance is important between showcasing your achievements and respecting others.
Especially when you succeed, don’t forget gratitude toward those around you. Turn your attention to the people who supported you.
Specifically, small daily practices matter. Listen seriously to junior colleagues’ opinions in meetings. When a project succeeds, acknowledge the whole team’s contributions.
Honestly admit your failures and maintain an attitude of learning. This humble approach builds trust from those around you and becomes the foundation that supports your career for the long term.
Promotion and success are not goals but results. If you continue growing as a person and build good relationships with others, paths will naturally open up.
This proverb gently teaches us the importance of continuing to walk without rushing, without pride, and with sincerity.
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