In our culture of more is better and instant gratification, there is so much value placed on accomplishing greater and greater things. With this emphasis, it can be easy to disregard the important virtue of humility. But don’t!
Humility is such an important thing! Humility allows us to continue to learn and to admit when we have made mistakes. Without humility there is no growth, with no growth things are always the hum-drum same.
HOW TO MAINTAIN HUMILITY
Constant vigilance and self-reflection are crucial to maintaining humility. Without taking the time to think about how we are presenting ourselves and the effects this may be having on our world around us, we could present ourselves in a very egocentric way! Follow these steps to make sure you are firmly grounded in reality.
- Identify a question you would like to reflect on. Don’t answer the questions right away, instead get really clear about what it is you want answered. Remember to start small. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many items in the beginning. This will derail your progress.
- Schedule an appointment with yourself. Put it in your planner. Set a reminder on your phone. Whatever it takes to make sure you are following through with making this a priority.
- Figure out a method that works best for you. Do you reflect best when you journal, or when you chat with a friend, maybe talking aloud to yourself is your cup of tea? Experiment with these methods until you find the one that resonates the most with you and your particular communication style.
- Ask for help. It can be hard implementing new routines into our lives. And sometimes we have a hard time being objective when it comes to our own faults. Find someone who can be honest with you. Someone who can point out your flaws as well as your strengths. Someone who can help you stay accountable to the process.
- Take Action. All that self-reflecting is only useful if we implement what we have discovered. Sometimes our actions might be small nuances, while other times huge leaps, either way, remember to take this critical step.
- Repeat often. This is the part where vigilance plays an important role. If we self-reflect once every two years, we aren’t going to have the same benefits as if we schedule weekly meetings with ourselves. My office manager and I meet every Monday to reflect and discuss our goals, accomplishments, and problems. We focus on the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Humility allows us to grow from our mistakes. And I don’t know about you, but I always want to be growing! Life is far too beautiful of a thing to remain stagnant!