C.S. Lewis once said, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." That is absolutely true. We often think that humility is putting ourselves last and making sure our self-esteem is in check. We think for one second that if we let ourselves feel the accomplishments that we have made, then we are prideful and we need to tone it down. That is not necessarily true. Humility is the art of focusing other people rather than yourself and having that self-awareness of our own strengths and weaknesses. Here are a few ways in which we can become more humble-minded people.
One aspect that we can focus is talking less. I’ve noticed in my life the humble people always have time to listen. They don’t insist that everyone listen to them and that what they have to say is of the highest importance. They are willing to sit back and let other people do the talking. Now I’m not suggesting that to be humble you have to keep your mouth shut all the time, but it is a good practice to make sure what the other person is talking about is being appreciated and listened to. Prideful people believe that what they have to say is of the highest importance. It’s really annoying talking to a person who isn’t listening to you, and is dying to interrupt you because they believe what they have to say is more important. Bottom line: listen more, talk less.
Another important detail is that humble people focus on other people rather than themselves. Humble people have this secret power of not caring so much of how they look to the outside world. They are not worried about false appearances or making the perfect first impression because they are already secure in their self-worth. They are not constantly thinking about how everyone is looking at them, and it is beautiful. However, what they are concerned about is other people. They care about others more than themselves. They are not constantly worried about their own problems, but are instead worried about the difficulties and triumphs of others.
This is arguably the most important lesson in this whole article. The difference between humble people and prideful people is that prideful people believe that they have ownership of this world and can say what happens. The prideful believe that they are entitled to a have a good life and some happiness along with it. Humble people believe the world and its people do not owe them a favor, and instead are grateful for every blessing that is given to them. With prideful people, they believe that they can become their own gods and that they own people, money and that they should have every opportunity. This is not true because God has given us everything and we should focus on Him rather than on ourselves.
Humble people are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. They see the flaws in themselves, but they also see the worth in themselves and what makes them.
