Positive Humility

“Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.”_John J. McCloy

 

We can find countless number of self-improvement materials teaching about principles of true success but we don’t have a lot that accurately emphasize the importance of humility on human achievements.

So, to make a contribution, I decided to compose this article. Now let’s start with a dictionary definition of the word.

Dictionary defines humility as the quality of being modest or respectful.  It is the perfect quietness of one’s heart.

When we think of a truly humble person, we are likely to have a mind-picture of modesty, calmness, fairness, tranquility and authenticity.

Humility is about thinking unassumingly of oneself, especially in relation to others. It is about not having an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

However, true humility is not servile but it is quiet confidence, and genuine consideration for the feelings and opinions of others.

Therefore, the right approach to humbleness is a realistic appraisal of one's own abilities, coupled with a sincere desire to use those abilities to cater for the need of others. This is what I mean by positive humility.

According to Jim Collin’s book, ‘Good to Great,’ one of the two powerful qualities of exceptional leaders is humility—the other one is mettle.

You see, positive humility has nothing to do with being a doormat, but everything to do with being a wise person.  In this sense, we cannot overestimate the value of true humility and its power both in social and business circle.

This means that for humility to be positive, courage should not be absent. Humility without nerve is what degenerates into being a pushover.

Stephen Covey agrees with Jim Collins completely when he concluded in his book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,’ that the twin virtues of true success are humility and courage.

He said that humility is like the mother while courage is like the father. And the two combined in one person is the ultimate source of personal power.

Therefore you need the virtue of courage to ensure your sense of humility remains positive and beneficial to you and everyone around you.

Finally, if you want to imbibe the virtue of positive humility, keep in mind the beautiful words of a writer, Ralph Marston who wrote:

“Whatever you’re doing a sense of superiority will make you worse at it. Humility, on the other hand will make you better. The moment you think you’ve got it all figured out, your progress stops.

Instead, continue to advance and improve by reminding yourself how much more there will always be to discover.

Confidence is positive and empowering, but arrogance is deadly. Be confidence, but not at the expense of your respect for others.”