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Quote of the Day: Humility
True humility is intelligent self-respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be. —Ralph W. Sockman
Humility is always a good thing. It’s always a good thing to be humbled by circumstances so you can then come from a sincere place to try to deal with them. –Michael J. Fox
I like the idea of humility. I just think I do a lousy job of it. To me, humility is only practiced in relationship with others, whether they are friends, family, or even G-d. I continually remind myself that I sometimes have an inflated perception of myself; sometimes there’s no talking me out of it, especially when there are two sides of an issue and I’m sure that my side is right.
To be honest, I am usually willing to admit when I am wrong, which happens enough times for me to try to be pretty sure of my facts. But when I don’t verify my information, I sometimes let my ego take the lead.
Part of my preoccupation with humility is that I am currently taking a class on Servant Leadership. A significant part of the mindset is “assuming that doing what is best for others is what’s best for me.” It moves a person from a “me” focus to include everyone. It’s learning how to develop a truthful understanding of oneself, recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, your gifts and limitations. It requires a person to be open and vulnerable. It’s been a challenge for me.
Do you think humility is a high-level virtue?
Published in Group Writing
Some of us certainly have more to be humble about than others. Usually, those are the ones who never got their ticket to board the humble train.
At least I bought my ticket!
I don’t think there is a more important attribute than true humility. As the Sackman quote notes, true humility keeps us both from thinking too highly or too lowly of ourselves. And this is key. Having true humility opens you up to discovery rather than locking you into pre-conceived and unyielding beliefs, and supports self-respect essential to individual autonomy.
Yes, but who am I to say?
According to Winston Churchill, a colleague was: A modest little person, with much to be modest about.
Don’t be that guy.
So in a way, humility can be a valuable tool in self-development. I like that!
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.” — Oscar Levant
Maybe someone needs to write The Genius of Humility. I imagine that a block-buster book tour, itself, might be a real challenge for the author.
But seriously, folks: https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/litany-of-humility/
You beat me to it. That was precisely the prayer that came to my mind after reading Susan’s post.
I often say I’m the most humble man on Earth . . .
I was thinking the other day about the word pride, and how it means two different things. There’s the pride you feel when you accomplish something praiseworthy, which I think is an entirely good thing; it’s a great motivator and a healthy thing to feel, when it’s earned. But then there’s excessive pride: boastfulness, pomposity, the desire for acclaim.
Humility is the opposite, but it works the same way. I think humility is an admirable trait when it counters excessive pride or the tendency to elevate oneself above others. I am often impressed when I read — not often enough — about celebrities who don’t buy into their own fame and go out of their way to live lives that are as ordinary as possible. (It’s odd that, in that context, I regard as admirable an attitude that in other people is just the default.)
But when someone is excessively humble, that can be as off-putting as excessive pride. It can seem disingenuous not to acknowledge your own strengths. When I was young and new to the professional workplace, I sometimes fell into this trap: if someone complimented my work, I would almost argue with them, explaining all of the ways in which I thought that I had fallen short. Finally someone pulled me aside and explained to me that the correct response, when receiving praise, is “thank you.”
Isaac Asimov wrote a lot about himself: three volumes of memoirs, many essays, and copious autobiographical introductions and commentaries in various compilations he published. He admitted to what he called “cheerful self-appreciation,” but he also did not hesitate to admit his own faults (at least the ones he was aware of). He was a good writer and managed to do it all without seeming either arrogant or self-deprecating. As with so many things, it’s all about moderation.
I was thinking over this very point this afternoon! My husband struggled with accepting compliments for many years, and I finally told him he only needed to say “thank you.” He’s gotten quite good at it! People don’t realize that when we downplay our accomplishments, we discount the other person’s generosity in complimenting us.
Humility, it seems to me, is the prerequisite for all virtue. I spent years considering whether gratitude may be more fundamental to virtue than humility. In the end, I realized that I’m unable to distinguish between the two.
I can appreciate that, although I’d never thought of it. Gratitude requires a degree of humility since we usually remember that we indebted to others for their generosity, and humility opens the door for gratitude, since we realize that we do not live completely independently, but rely on others. Thanks, Freeven.
I just came back from a street gathering of about 20 people in gratitude and humility. That these people embrace me with all my oddities and differences from them is truly a gift. In some ways we have so little in common, and in other ways, we are neighbors and friends. What a blessing.
The line between pride and humility is often a difficult one to find in oneself, and a difficult one to ascertain in others, maybe because there are so many false forms of both. Francois de la Rochefoucauld wrote in his Maxims that:
The poster child of this for Brits of my generation and before was Uriah Heep; not the band, but the awful, scheming villain of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, whose leitmotif was, “I’m a very ‘umble person,” something the reader quickly found to be untrue. Another such was Obediah Slope (love the names!) the hypocritical and falsely pious chaplain of Anthony Trollope’s Barchester Towers.
Say what you will about Victorian novels (and who doesn’t), many of them–in their six-hundred, seven-hundred, plus pages–provided leisurely and well-drawn characters exhibiting most of our vices and virtues. If one could get through them (as we were expected to do from the age of about eleven onwards), one could get a head start on learning quite a lot about the human condition and the human heart, and develop a frame of references about “right” and “wrong,” without necessarily having to live through the events oneself. On reflection, I don’t think that was such an bad thing.
The base of humility is Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
There are many sages in history that have their own version of that truth. Socrates is often considered the wisest man because he confessed that “I know that I know nothing”.
A short consideration of the fact that current physics is tending toward Quantum Wave Theory (QWT) indicating matter does not exist, only waves. We have very little understanding of what we believe to be consciousness, so the maxim “First, know thyself” approaches impossibility.
Humility is tough for actual or effective atheists, because they see nothing beyond earthly power exceeding their authority.
Protagoras, a foundational thinker of Western philosophy believed “Man is the measure of all things”.
When one believes that there is no higher power, the center of the universe tends to be themselves, leading to the Woke idea that there is no objective truth. The truth is whatever you define it to be.
In view of my brief existence and belief in God, humility ought to be extremely easy for me. Unfortunately, I have this problem of human nature, or in theistic terms, original sin, based on pride.
With the gift of the Holy Spirit, I seek to decrease and Christ to increase, so that I may see God. My human nature wants to BE GOD.
No way I am more humble than you.
Benjamin Franklin perhaps put it best.
Well, I guess I’ll just be really humble and say that I’m #3 on The Humility Meter.
Humility Meter sounds like a poetic form.
What wonderful observations! I especially appreciated the quote you included.
As someone once said, “Humility is my most outstanding virtue.” (I doubt that he was correct in that.)