PRIDE. The Worst Sin ► Explained With Dark Souls

Added: 2026-05-08

[00:00:00]I used to think that out of all the seven deadly sins, pride was not the one I struggled with. Maybe I struggled with lust or envy or even wrath, but definitely not pride. I don't brag or show off. I don't walk around telling people I'm the best, and so I thought I was fine. But then I realized pride is the worst sin of them all. It's the poison that enhances every other sin.

[00:00:23]It's the voice that tells you, "You're right. You're different. [music] You're untouchable." And no one is immune to it.

[00:00:30]Teenagers think they're invincible.

[00:00:33]Companies ignore change and become obsolete. And even great kings become tyrants. It's an empire killer, a catalyst [music] for destruction. And nowhere is that more clear than in Dark Souls. [music] Because in Dark Souls, it was the pride of a king that destroyed everything.

[00:00:54]In the beginning, there was nothing. But then, there was fire. Everything used to be gray, and the world was inhabited by ancient immortal dragons. But then, deep under the surface of the earth, a flame was discovered, the first flame. And with it came disparity, light and dark, life and death. Within that first flame, were souls. And one of the beings who found one of these souls was someone named Gwyn. [music] When he found it, he became something more. He gained the power of fire and lightning. And with it, the ability to challenge the immortal dragons. So he did. The dragons represented a world that never changed, [music] the way things used to be. And Gwyn wanted something different. He wanted a world shaped by power, by order, by him. So he waged a war against the dragons with his great and terrible army, and he won. He ushered in the age of fire and became the king of the gods.

[00:01:47]And for a time, everything was great.

[00:01:50]His age of fire was a prosperous time for everyone. Until it wasn't.

[00:01:55]The flame that gave him that power was never meant to last. [music] And when it began to fade, so did his world, so did his power, so did he. And this is where you can really start to see the poison take over. [music] Because instead of just accepting that the age of fire was coming to an end, Gwyn refused. He believed he could preserve what he built, that he could defy the natural order, that he was right, and [music] that he could be an exception. So he sacrificed himself to the first flame just to keep it alive. And it worked, but only for a moment. Because the fire kept fading anyway. So people had to keep trying to relight it over and over again. Now the whole world is trapped because of his pride in an endless cycle [music] of trying to preserve something that was never even meant to last. If we could summarize this whole story into one sentence, it would be a king got power from fire, refused to let it fade, and now the world is stuck repeating his mistake. This is what pride does to people. It doesn't matter if they're just some regular [music] person or a literal king of the gods. Pride will reveal just how powerful you really are.

[00:03:01]It's just that with Gwyn, it's so obvious. Someone powerful going mad with power seems to happen like every Tuesday. We're used to hearing that story already. But pride takes many forms. It's the excessive belief in one's abilities, importance, or correctness. Someone that refuses to listen, refuses to change, and refuses to acknowledge any weakness. You think that you're better than you really are.

[00:03:24]A greedy person may know they'll be greedy. A wrathful person might recognize their rage. But a prideful person, they think they're justified in everything they do. They think they're right, even when they're completely wrong. I've seen your kind time and time again.

[00:03:42]Every flame man must be quenched.

[00:03:45]Every secret must be unearthed.

[00:03:47]Such is the conceit of the self-proclaimed seeker of truth.

[00:03:52]But in the end, you lack the stomach for the agony [music] that you'll bring upon yourself.

[00:03:58]Now, what I'm going to say next might make you want to click off the video.

[00:04:02]But if you can let me explain, you might just end up agreeing with me. I don't mean to call you out for being a prideful, arrogant person. But you're probably doing the exact same thing as Gwyn without even realizing it. You might not be a king, but just like Gwyn, you think you're right. You think you're the exception. You have this voice that whispers, "You deserve this." When you don't deserve it. Your ambition turns into arrogance, your confidence into delusion, and your success [music] into your downfall. Nobody is immune to pride, and yet we must try. Pride in our own lives, not as kings, but just as regular people, shows up in small ways every day. You might think they're not as dangerous because they're smaller scale than a king. But pride in us is equally as [music] dangerous. It's just that you can see it more clearly in someone like Gwyn. Because he has so much power, he [music] can do so much more with his pride. But for us, it's when you know you should change something in your life, but you don't.

[00:05:01]Because you tell yourself, "I'm already good as I am. I'm fine." It's when someone gives you advice, and instead of listening, you immediately look for a reason to dismiss it. It's when you fail at something, and instead of taking responsibility, you blame the situation, or [music] other people, or timing, just anything else that isn't you. Because in your mind, there's always a reason why it's not your fault. That's pride. It's not loud. It's not obvious. It doesn't look like arrogance. It looks like you defending yourself, protecting your current version of reality, even when it's holding you back. And just like Gwyn, you keep trying to hold on to something that you probably should have let go of a long time [music] ago.

[00:05:41]Gwyn's main form of pride is the belief that the power he gained from the first flame [music] became something he had the right to control, as if it belonged to him. Even though that power originally came from something [music] greater than him, he began to act as if his world, his rule, and his version of order were the correct and only way things should exist. [music] When the flame started to die, he didn't just see it as a natural ending. He saw it as something that shouldn't [music] be allowed to happen. Instead of accepting that the world was never meant to change, [music] he believed he could override that change, preserve his age, and keep everything the way he decided [music] it should be. That's what makes his pride so dangerous. It's not loud arrogance, but [music] the quiet conviction that he is right, that his way is justified, and that he [music] has the authority to decide how the world should work, even if it means breaking the natural order to do it. How many times have you heard people speak to you as if they think they're their own [music] god? They think they're the source of their own excellence. They think they're in total control of [music] the good things in their life, and it's because of them that they're good. They think they're so great when they really ain't, and they love to [music] be winners. They need to be winners. You can see it in others, but do you think they can see it in themselves? [music] That's what pride is. Nobody can see it in themselves. Nobody thinks they're the problem. Everyone is blind to their own pride, and that's what makes it so dangerous. Because with lust and sloth and wrath, you can see clearly that you're lustful or lazy or angry. But with pride, you can't even see that what you're doing is wrong, because it's all justified in your head. I'm not trying to say that you watching this video are actually a bad person. I'm trying to say that you should be aware that what you believe, what you think about the world, might not really be the way things actually are.

[00:07:33]There have been times in my life recently where someone else and I are trying to recollect the past, and I feel so confident in my memory that I'm sure what I'm saying is the truth, and the other person must be wrong. But then something gets found that actually reveals that I was wrong the whole time.

[00:07:49]And then I'm actually dumbfounded, like, "I totally thought I was right on this one." But enough times of this happening to me, where I've been so [music] confident, even to the point of me getting irritated or angry, because I know I'm right, and then somehow I turn out to be actually, [music] evidently, wrong, you start to see that maybe I can be wrong sometimes. Maybe the world I see in my head and the things I believe with 100% confidence >> [music] >> can be factually incorrect. And pride starts to disguise itself as other sins [music] when it's threatened. When I'm being told I'm wrong, I start to get angry or wrathful. When I'm proven wrong or someone else does better than me in something, [music] I start to get envious. But it all stems from my pride trying to protect itself. I've learned that you can be prideful without ever even knowing you're prideful. But I don't want you to think that you should no longer be confident in yourself.

[00:08:41]Confidence is good. Confidence can lead you to step out of your comfort zone and develop a stronger character. But just don't let your [music] confidence blind you. Don't let yourself believe that you're better than everyone else and [music] that you have more wisdom, because maybe you're not actually the best, you just think you are. The problem isn't confidence, it's certainty. It's the moment where you stop questioning yourself and just [music] start assuming you're right by default. Can you have the humility to acknowledge [music] that you might be wrong, even when inside you feel like you're definitely right? [music] The cure to pride isn't hating yourself, it's humility, the ability to say, "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I need help.

[00:09:21]Maybe this thing I'm holding on to is already dead." That's how it always starts. Not with arrogance, not with [music] power, but with the belief that I already understand this. I don't need to change. I'm the exception. And pride can even be negative rather than a false positive. You might think you're the only one dealing with your [music] problems. Nobody else can understand you, that you're the exception. And if you never challenge that voice, you end up just like Gwyn, holding on to something, burning yourself to keep it alive, refusing [music] to let it go, even when it's destroying you. So the real question isn't, "Am I prideful?"

[00:09:56]Because of course you're still going to be wrong and make mistakes. We're only human. Sometimes we're going to have pride in our work and we're going to [music] think that we're better than everyone else and everyone else must be wrong. But if you can catch yourself in those moments, if you can pause and question that voice, then you don't end up stuck [music] in the cycle. You don't end up like Gwyn. So the question isn't am I prideful? Because that won't help.

[00:10:19]The real question is where in my life am I refusing to admit that I might be wrong.

[00:10:25]Anyway, that's all I have to say for today, guys. I hope this video can help someone [music] in some way. If you like Dark Souls and self-improvement, I have a new free community that you can join.

[00:10:35]It's just going to be a link in the description. I also have a new course.

[00:10:38]It's called how to genuinely fix your life but explain with Dark Souls. So if that sounds interesting to you as well, there'll be a second link in the description for that, too. No pressure for either of them. They're just there if you want to check them out, all right? You take care, guys.

[00:10:53]Don't you dare go hollow.