Humility: It’s Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be
“…excessive pride is a familiar sin, but a (person) may just as easily frustrate the will of God through excessive humility.” ~Ken Follett
I want you to take a minute and re-read the above quote. In the event that God-language offends you in any way, feel free to replace it with whatever works for you — universe, higher power, higher self — you pick. And now think about what this quote is saying. It’s from the book Pillars of the Earth, and the upshot of it is that so often people shy away from pride and arrogance, knowing that these qualities can trip you up on your path to success. There’s no doubt about it; too much pride can blind you and doom your plans to failure every time.
The challenge is that, in an effort to avoid the crime of pride or arrogance, you very likely swing the pendulum too far and stand in a place of too much humility. Don’t believe me? Answer me this: what are your strengths? What are you good at? What gifts do you bring to the world? What are your inherent talents? In working with clients for almost a decade now, I know that questions of this sort often elicit blank stares or the ever-popular “I don’t know.” My guess is the same is true for you. You may acknowledge your strengths quietly to yourself, but there’s no way you’re going to “toot your own horn” to the world, right? That would be wrong, right?
Well here’s the thing; there’s actually a pretty fine line between owning your strengths — acknowledging the gifts and talents you’re meant to bring to the world — and walking around with excessive pride. Because the world at large teaches you the dangers of arrogance without teaching the virtues of confidence (and that is what we’re talking about here) you very likely feel challenged to confidently step into and acknowledge what you’re good at. And until or unless you can do this, there’s no way you can live up to your full potential and accomplish whatever it is you’re meant to accomplish.
So, here’s my challenge to you: today, right here, right now, acknowledge your strengths, gifts and talents. Not in a whisper to yourself, but out loud, to the world. Write these on a piece of paper and post it on your fridge. Call up a colleague or two and tell them — confidently, not arrogantly — what you believe your strengths are. Start living your talents confidently and watch how the way you show up in the world changes. Notice how your impact in the world changes. Notice what you can accomplish when you step right up to the line that separates confidence from arrogance.
Bottom-line: if you want to accomplish great things, you’ve got to know what you’re great at. Don’t let excessive humility be your downfall. Whatever you’re great at, own it. Leadership requires confidence, not humility.
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