Humility

Day 262

I would like to share some advice given by Richard Carlson, PH.D. in his book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all small stuff." About humility he says, "Humility and inner peace go hand in hand. The less compelled you are to try to prove yourself to others, the easier it is to feel peaceful inside.
Proving yourself is a dangerous trap. It takes an enormous amount of energy to be continually pointing out your accomplishments, bragging, or trying to convince others of your worth as a human being. Bragging actually dilutes the positive feelings you receive from an accomplishment or something you are proud of. To make matters worse, the more you try to prove yourself, the more others will avoid you, talk behind your back about your insecure need to brag, and perhaps even resent you.
Ironically, however, the less you care about seeking approval, the more approval you seem to get. People are drawn to those with a quiet, inner confidence, people who don't need to make themselves look good, be 'right' all the time, or steal the glory. Most people love a person who doesn't need to brag, a person who shares from his or her heart and not from his or her ego.
The way to develop genuine humility is to practice. It's nice because you will get immediate inner feedback in the way of calm, easy feelings. The next time you have an opportunity to brag, resist the temptation."
I agree with this completely...but the key here is being sincerely humble. There is nothing worse than someone who is fake with their false humility, like Mrs. Elton from Jane Austin's "Emma," when she says statements like, "I don't like to brag, but my friends do say I am quite the musician."
Obviously the perfect model of humility is seen in the life of Jesus Christ- He was perfect- but still maintained his humility. So all of us non-perfect folks shouldn't be so compelled to brag.

Janet