“Humility is the wisdom of accepting the truth that you might just be wrong” – Richard Paul Evans & Michael Vey. 

“Being humble means recognizing that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others” – Gordon B. Hinckley. 

Humility is an admirable quality that not many people possess. It means that a person may have accomplished a lot, or be a lot but doesn’t feel it is necessary to advertise or brag about it – Urban Dictionary. 

As humans, or as our culture demands it, we tend to pay emphasis on one’s achievements, accomplishments, appearance,outward demeanor, in short all the things that can be seen and be considered in the eyes of the masses, the true ingredients to succeed in life.  

True, there are many qualities that a human must possess in order to succeed in life, but one of the most overlooked and forgotten quality is Humility. People often tend to misunderstand the true meaning of humility and consider it to be a sign of weakness or a way to back down or give into a situation.

A truly humble person listens to and accepts the other individual as a whole; mind and body, rather than just taking into consideration their outward appearance as a mark of their success or failure. A humble individual is never the one to cover up or hide his/ her mistakes. They take onus for their actions and even if they are wrong, they are not ashamed to accept it and learn from their mistakes.

“Researchers are of the opinion that  “quiet ego”—a construct similar to humility—happens when we gain control of our ego: we become less likely to act aggressively, manipulate others, express dishonesty, and destroy resources. Instead, we take responsibility for and correct our mistakes, listen to others’ ideas, and keep our abilities in humble perspective”.

Humble individuals are known to be happy, they can handle stress effectively, they are helpful, generous, sympathetic, empathetic and show gratitude towards other people. Being humble also leads to mental and physical well being.


 DEVELOPING HUMILITY

Being human

Often, in our quest to succeed in life we let our ego, self esteem, pride, stubbornness come and invade the sanctity of our relationships whether they may be personal or professional. One of the most important things towards building humility in yourself is to treat everyone equally and in a humane manner. Differences crop up in relationships, one may criticize the other, but it is at this moment that a humble individual takes the reins of the situation in their hands and clears the air before the relationship is endangered. 

Give respect to earn respect 

Everyone wants to be treated well and respected by others. In a humble individual’s eyes everyone is the same, rich or poor, big or small, tall or short, old or young, man, woman or other, religion, creed or race, everyone has the right to be treated with the same amount of respect o matter who or what they are or choose to be or where they hail from. When tackling such situations always keep in mind, how you would like to be treated and treat others in the same way.

Gratitude 

Giving thanks, it is such an important part of our lives. Every individual you meet contributes to your journey. Whether the situation may be good or bad it shapes up the person that you are and choose to be. Be thankful to the people around you who help you in big ways and small to make you life easier, better and beautiful.

Seek out the good  

It is a human tendency to seek out the negative or the “minus points” in people, there are times where we can be quite judgmental about others. Being humble entails one to listen and accept people for who they are and not judge them and jump to conclusions about them. Also once we seek out the good in people and in our lives we tend to be much more happier and satisfies with our life situation which definitely helps in contributing to one’s success.

Don’t fumble at being humble 

Humility is not something that can be instilled in a day or two, it takes practice and persistence and you can incorporate it in you everyday life.      

  • Smiling and greeting people you come across everyday.         
  • Respecting and talking to people under you with respect and asking them about their health, family and such.
  • Giving thanks to the watchman, peon, maids, helpers, etc,  they all need a word of thanks just to know that they are appreciated for what they do for you.

 “I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps” – Mahatma Gandhi.