Sunday, January 10, 2010

I'm The Greatest At Being Humble. Really... I'm The Best!


I won't tell you how good i am at what I do, or mention that I believe (excuse me... know) that I'm the best in my area at my speciality. I refuse to say this because I'm so damn humble!

Humble: Not proud or arrogant; modest.

Use in sentence: Even though I know I'm the greatest, I won't tell anyone because I'm so humble.

Humility is becoming a lost art, if it hasn't already disappeared completely. I say "art" because it takes so much creativity to achieve in these days of self promotion. "Look at me. You need me. No one does it better, or can take care of you the way I can. I will take you further into the next level!"

Humility starts at the top, and will only be accomplished if the cycle continues down the chain. When that chain is broken... so begins the cockiness, eventually leading to arrogance. When this type of behavior takes control, it makes humility feel like a second class citizen. Arrogance is very powerful, overwhelming, and extremely addicting. I compare it to the strongest of villains... it has the illusion of invincibility, but as in all stories, the super hero continuously finds a way to win in the end.

Humility is the super hero in this adventure. She very often takes a back seat to the villain, and even gives the impression of defeat in the middle of the story, but always seems to find her way back to the top before the credits run. She truly believes that you don't need to know how strong she is... her actions will be proof enough. Her motto has always been, "I don't need to talk... watch, I'll show you." She never allows others to feel as if they are less than, and if anything, she enjoys taking on that role. She doesn't mind "taking it for the team," if it means long term growth and change for her teammates.

Humility... consistently apprehending the bad guys, never taking the credit, and she's always scoring the cute boy!

(did I just say "cute boy?")





17 comments:

Sarah said...

unless, of course, you're in an interview!

Dayne Gingrich said...

Even in an interview, it'll be "we," not me. It'll be the team, the staff, the company. Even CEO's love We more than I... if you can find a way to sell her that We will always be more profitable.

Deborah said...

This was a good post! I like the humility. I don't like arrogant people and I am surrouded by some pretty arrogant people!

Missy said...

What a great post!
However, I struggle between being humble and having low self-esteem.

An Open Heart said...

Cute. ;-)

S

Bruce Coltin said...

But don't you think that humility is usually learned...and learned the hard way?

Dayne Gingrich said...

Deborah~ Doesn't arrogance just disgust you?! Too bad you're surrounded by them. Smile at them, knowing that they're missing on a lot.

Missy~ Yes, humility and low self-esteem can run close together. In cases where they're running too close, I like to see that person TRY to find arrogance because inevitably, humility will be found along the way.

Open Heart~ Thank you for taking the time to give me a wink. Backatcha! ;-)

Bruce~ It definitely can be learned the hard way, but our goal should be to find it before we go too far the other way. Easier said than done, for sure... still should be our goal! If we break it down to the very bottom, parents should be starting this understanding from birth.

spldbch said...

I think our culture promotes pride and sometimes even arrogance. Humility is indeed a lost art, but I'm inspired by those who have mastered it.

Dayne Gingrich said...

Is there such thing as "mastered it?"

Bendigo said...

Humility...definitely not a common thing...It's still there though. I think we all need to remind ourselves of that humility factor...

BTW...recognized you with a little award...Your blog just keeps popping up...Great stuff as usual!

The Invisible Seductress said...

You are FABULOUS!

lifechick said...

There is that fine line between taking pride in accomplishment/ability and being arrogant about it. I imagine most of us struggle with this in some way, whether it's having too much humility and never recognizing your own worth, or having too little, and never recognizing anyone else's.

Great post, Dayne. PS - Happy New Year!

Kate said...

Great post and very very true.

Kate xx
http://secretofficeconfessions.blogspot.com

Retta said...

Very though-provoking post, Dayne.
Part of it I get, and agree with.
Part of it must've gone over my head, cuz even after reading it a couple of times, I still didn't get it! (and nope, not trying to be humble, LOL!) It was the top-down reference... was this about coaches and a team?? Or a parent? Or a CEO, perhaps.

My favorite part was something that I copied down so I would not forget it: "she never allows others to feel as if they were less than."

I know what that feels like... and I don't want to get careless or tactless (which is easy to do if in a hurry or tired) and do that to someone else.
Thanks for another good one!
Loretta
=^..^=

Dayne Gingrich said...

There definitely IS fine line, which is why I wanted to post.

"Top-down" could mean parents, coaches, or CEO's. For me, personally... my "humble" came from parents, and I try my best to instill this important quality in my students.

My poor parents ~ having to deal with my cocky butt growing up. I was sooo cocky, which is probably why I see how crucial it is NOT to be.

Thanks for all the thoughtful comments!

Matty said...

Humility is a tough one to conquer because we all have an inner need for recognition. We want to let everyone know how good we are. Humility takes practice, and the satisfaction that knowing you are good is good enough.

P.S. Thanks Dayne, for making the settings change. Now I can comment again.

Mr.Poo said...

I believe I´m more humble than you. But anyway, doesnt matter what you are good at,´I´m always better than you, so dont try so hard. But if you want to be taught how to be humble, just ask the humble master Mr. Poo Ha ha ha just kidding like always :)