True humility

Ruthless Compassion Institute

Is true humility compatible with good self-esteem? I think so, & in fact, to me they go hand-in-hand. True humility isn't about self-deprecation or feeling undeserving of good things. True humility is recognizing that you're an imperfect, flawed human being; that you don't know everything & that you're still learning. True humility is recognizing your strengths & areas of weakness; your assets & deficits; successes & failures. True humility comes from looking at yourself with ruthless compassion. It's seeing yourself with loving-kindness but without self-indulgence. When you embody true humility you can accept yourself fully without resting on your laurels. You're motivated to keep growing & improving as a person. The person who is truly humble has nothing to prove to anyone. They aren't arrogant, self-important or a know-it-all; they aren't cynical or rigid in their thinking. The person who is truly humble has an open mind & an open heart & can get along with anyone, anywhere. Are you ready to begin practicing true humility?

This is one of the best definitions of humility that I have ever seen.  I like how it explains about not being arrogant, self important or a know-it-all.  I do distinguish between being a know-it-all and someone that knows-a-lot.  Know-it-all shares their opinions as undisputed facts sometimes having no truth to base it on.  I remember the day I was in the computer lab as the tech.  One of the students was printing on silk.  I reminded him that if he planned to sew that fabric he would need to use a #9 needle so not to punch holes in the fabric.  He was astounded and exclaimed, "Do you know everything?"  I blushed, I had only tried to help.  Then I calmly replied, "No, I just happen to know a lot about computers and sewing."  (I used to sew professionally.)  I learned that sometimes just because I know something it doesn't mean the other person wants to hear it.  I think another factor of true humility is complete honesty.  I want to stop the lies in my life and the first one I need to stop lying to is myself.  However, I also need to give myself credit for my successes.  In counseling, I spent so much of my time focusing on what was wrong with me.  I am working on taking my strengths and make them stronger.  I am not a chain.  In a chain, it is only as good as its weakest link.  I can use strengths to build up my weak points.  I can take my weaknesses and make them strengths.  A combination of using strengths and strengthening weakness will help me to grow in confidence and thrive.  That is my theory.  I don't need to prove it to anyone else except myself.  

To me, there are several great examples of true humility that I can study and learn from, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and Jesus Christ.  My favorite is Christ.  He knew who he was without apology or deprecation.  He knew a lot and tried to share what he knew but recognized that some people did not want to hear what he had to say.  He was willing to learn.  He recognized when he needed help.  His confidence and peace inspired a desire for others to be around him.  I learned to admire Gandhi when I was a teenager.  I heard on the news about his hunger strikes.  People paid attention.  He made a difference.  Mother Teresa picked a task in a remote part of the world away from all she knew to set up a place where street people of India could have a place to die in dignity.  Her simple task affected thousands around the globe.  I have examples of what humility looks like.  I appreciate Ruthless Compassion sharing a definition that makes sense to me.