THE POWER OF HUMILITY
There are many qualities that define a champion - in sports and in life - but few if any are more important or more powerful than humility. As is usually the case, though, living, playing, and working with a humble spirit - doing what champions do - isn't easy or popular. In fact, just the opposite is true. In a culture that promotes and even celebrates selfishness, arrogance, and entitlement, it’s easy for humility to find itself nudged out of the spotlight altogether. And yet, oftentimes, that’s exactly where you’ll find the champions – out of the spotlight – quietly, humbly, and diligently working away, and winning in the dark.
Why is humility so important? Because it's the foundation on which our strength, our confidence, and ultimately our success are built. Many people misinterpret what real strength and confidence look like. It's not selfishness, arrogance, and entitlement. Those are the hallmarks of false confidence – loud and flashy on the outside, but flimsy and fragile at its core. Real strength and real confidence, on the other hand, aren’t flimsy or fragile. Real strength and real confidence grounded in humility may be quiet and unassuming, but they're powerful. And if you’re serious about becoming your best in any area of life, both will be required.
Here are three ways humility makes you stronger, builds your confidence, and helps you find success wherever you are:
1) Humility gives you the strength to handle that it’s not all about you. Humility eliminates selfishness. Selfish people are insecure. They need to hoard the credit and hog the spotlight that comes with winning. Champions, on the other hand, understand that no one achieves success alone. Their humility encourages them to invite others into their success story, and it helps them recognize the important role others have played in the outcome. Champions aren’t focused on whether or not they get their share of the credit; they’re too busy focused on winning.
2) Humility gives you the strength to press on when things are tough. Humility eliminates entitlement. Entitled people expect they’ll get everything they want and assume all of it will come easy. It would be nice, of course, if we all got everything we wanted and if it all came easy, but that’s not the reality of success. Champions recognize the truth, that the road to success is long and hard. Humility clarifies the process that’s required to be great at anything in life – a process that might include a few easy wins, but will definitely include a lot of struggles, challenges, failures, and difficulties. Champions haven’t created for themselves some naïve picture of effortless success. They know they have to earn it.
3) Humility gives you the strength to accept that you can, should, and must improve. Humility eliminates arrogance. Arrogant people think they know it all. This is a comfortable mindset, but one that's limiting and dangerous. It creates a false sense that no one can help you get better, and it encourages you to turn yourself off to coaching, criticism, or suggestion. Champions, on the other hand, recognize that learning and growing is not only possible, but necessary. They are hungry for feedback in all its forms because they know it can help them improve. It’s all useful to helping them become their best.
I want to challenge and encourage you to see the power of humility, and to make it a priority wherever you're living, playing, and working today. Because it’s not loud and flashy, it'll probably never get the credit it deserves for the role it plays in success, but man is it important.
Humility keeps you grounded and focused on the things that really matter. It doesn’t allow you to fall into the traps that come with success – traps like selfishly thinking you alone are responsible for your achievement, like thinking you’re entitled to getting everything just the way you want, or like arrogantly thinking you know it all already. Plenty of people will take that approach, and some of them may even try to nudge you out of the spotlight altogether. But don’t worry, you’ll be in good company. Typically that’s where you find the champions – out of the spotlight – quietly, humbly, and diligently working away, and winning in the dark.