Thoughts on Being Humble

In numerous books, I noticed how it is looked down upon to be a prideful person. This is a lesson that too many people do not seek knowledge of. Those are the few who do not realize the way that you act towards other is only a reflection of yourself. I have seen up close and personal how being a prideful person can seriously hurt your life. In the Popol Vuh I saw them mention pride countless times and one example of that would be from the story of the twins grandparents healing the Lord. “They had desired the death of Seven Macaw, and they were able to do it. For they saw pride as evil and went to do these things according to the word of Heart of Sky.” (p. 88, PopoVuh). What is evil to one could be good to the other, just as what is good

When I look up a word in the dictionary, many times, I find that there is more than one meaning to it. The definition depends on the way the word is being used, however, when a person defines a value, the definition might change according to lived experiences. If I were to ask people what “humility” means to them, some might match my definition and others might have different perspectives. I have personally met people that see humility as a downgrade. In contrast, humility to me means growth, equality, and a virtue that it is acquired through wisdom and not one that you are born with.

20-21- “Should we claim to be humble, though, we have already started down the slippery slope of arrogance. To speak (or write) about humility so that others may learn can itself become a prideful act.”

Although I can see how being more self confident can help, I don’t understand how people would choose to be more self confident at the cost of becoming arrogant. Odysseus himself is a good example of this, of how pride can get to your head. After escaping from Polyphemus he bragged and yelled out to him telling of how he had tricked him enraging the beast, not caring for the safety of his crew. Not only risking their lives when they should have been safe, but enraging some of his crew as well. In his arrogance he had lost 6 of his crew to Polyphemus, 6 of his crew he could have saved.

Pat Tillman was modest, the word modest means to not boast about accomplishments and Pat Tillman always showed this trait. Tillman presented his modesty when interviewed after a high school football game, he stated, “I didn’t play particularly well. The team played great.” He never wanted to talk about just him, he talked about his team. Another piece of evidence showing Tillman’s modesty, when he talked to people, he never spoke to them as if they were

We want to succeed with pride so we are worthy of being honored or respected. We don't want to feel prideful when others are just going to judge us then we feel that shame. Sometimes there isn't a point of being prideful when we cannot judge. We want others to see us being prideful, but then that can be good or possibly bad. There is also a point where we can just be humble.

How can a person become a successful leader by being humble? Dr. Steven Riser (2004), writes in his book Cultivating Christian Convictions, a person can become humble by remaining true to his God-given convictions. Todays’ professions are changing. They are not as integritized as they once were in the past. In fact, they are sensibly drama shows displaying mostly false characters. When I was, a kid watching television shows,

In fact,confidence is very important to each of us .Confident people believe in themselves,and because they believe,they achieve.You have confidence in yourself and your abilities.President Nixon,because of a lack of confidence,ruined his political career.In 1972,Nixon’s re-election campaign.Because of his remarkable achievements in the first term,so most political commentators are predicting Nixon will win by a landslide.Nixon himself,however,is not very confident.He can’t walk out of psychological shadow of the past few failure,extremely

The article I chose to read was called "Calling Yourself ‘Humbled’ Doesn’t Sound as Humble as It Used To," written by Carina Chocano. Chocano started the article discussing how Abraham Lincoln used the word humble in one of his political announcements. Lincoln using this term in one of his announcement is what helped set the standard in certain political persona. Not only is the word humble being used by politicians, but as well as athletes, celebrities, and other public figures. Athletes and celebrities are using this word more often during their interviews when accepting an honor, a price, or even breaking a record. Kids growing up in this generation will never know the true meaning of humble. Back then, humble meant having or showing a

The next reason why Adam should have been humble is he should have been more thoughtful with his personality. For example, it said “I was sitting with a table full of friends, talking and listening in my usual superior way.” That shows that he thinks he’s better than them. Another way Adam wasn’t humble was in the end of his argument with Kevin, Adam “shrugged and laid a condescending hand upon Kevin's shoulder.” Now I realize why Kevin chose Mike’s side.

For example, you may see a police officer on the news, stating that he took a bullet for his fellow man, or something of that matter, but does he go on to say "Hey, look it's the guy who took a bullet for the other guy!"? No, he does not. In most cases, if someone brought up the topic about his deed, his response would more than likely convey the police officer saying, "I was simply doing my job, nothing more nothing less." As for fictitious characters, I see the idea of being humble going both ways. Bilbo, a character from The Hobbit, tends to himself and is far from being boastful and claiming he did something. Honestly, throughout the book, he just wants to go back home and continue life as it once was. if we look at Beowulf, from the poem Beowulf, He wants you, the reader, and everyone around him to know, he is thee guy who did whatever he

There is nothing wrong with being confident, but what if you are overly confident? Everyone has something that they are good at and it is alright if people are better at something than you are. It is never good to think of yourself as better than anyone else or that you are of higher power than anyone else. However, it is also not good to bring people down if they are not as good at something as you are, at least they are trying. If you are not the best at something that should not discourage you or make you want to give up on it, it should make you want to work harder to get even better. In the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas Tim Burton uses the characters Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie and Dr. Finkelstein to show that is not good to be egotistic for the reason that it could lead to failure in any type of situation.

Rilke had the insight that every person had the beauty within their inner selves despite the opinions others may bestow upon them (Rilke 36). This psychological humanistic insight prevents people from losing their confident self-esteems. Likewise, it prevents people from being depressed due to negative self-image. I would just suggest to keep apply this insight into real life situations at a minimum, to avoid arrogance among ourselves.

Two related topics in the Stowell (1998) book that resonated with me were the concept of boasting (pp. 47-52) and the chapter on “speaking out for number one” (pp. 87-95). Too often, when speaking with others, we put ourselves forward, sharing information that shows how “important” we are. While there is a time and place for sharing our experiences with others, there is also a time to just listen. However, so many of us have to say, “well, this is what I did” or “this is what happened to me”. We can’t simply let others tell a story or an experience without bringing up one of our own. Unfortunately, doing this displays a boastful spirit and is indicative of a prideful heart. Stowell (1998) says of this person, “the boaster is the guy who keeps the conversation circulating around himself and his accomplishments” (p. 48) and notes that, “at its very core, pride desires to make self the most important person in the universe” (p. 87).

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, pride can be defined “as the pleasure or satisfaction gained from achievements, qualities, or possessions”. Pride makes a person feel proud of themselves. This highlights that a person can be proud of so many aspects of in their live. When a person begins to be proud of their abilities, this creates an image of the person as supreme in comparison to others. Such an individual is usually so in love with themselves and pays less attention to others. Also, they begin to reject any advices from others, thinking that they are better than them. Even the slightest form of criticism would create ill feelings towards the person, who directed constructive criticism. A proud person never acknowledges their flaws and often tend to blame others. Unlike a confident person, a proud person is not humble. They are full of themselves that they begin to be blinded to their flaws. This kind of pride is very unhealthy especially for personal growth. Because they can think that their perfect and until they learn different. Confidence on the other hand is trust or else self-assurance. It does not rely on individual possesses on something or someone. When a person is confident of their abilities and skills, there is a high potential for the individual to achieve goals. Confidence gives an added assurance to the person to perform well. Confidence plays a vital role in the development and growth of an individual.