Humility Is Not Putting Yourself Down, It’s Not Bragging

There is a famous fable that says that there was once a frog very full of himself who scorned a toad for considering him too little for her. Later, however, that same frog needed the frog’s help. The frog then, with great humility, was forced to ask the frog’s forgiveness and assume that it was no more than any other amphibian.

What happened to the famous frog in this fable is what happens to many people or what can happen to any of us at some point in our lives. Some people are so used to not being humble in their lives that they don’t even bother to hide this trait, but eventually that could change.

What does it mean to be humble?

As always when we try to define something as simply as possible, let’s go back to the dictionary. In this case, the Portuguese language dictionary says that humility is having the virtue of being aware of one’s weaknesses and limitations.

In this sense, boastful behavior and moral superiority do not define people as humble: it is about understanding who we are without the need to remind others of it all the time, boasting and exalting ourselves.

When are we practicing humility?

Humility is at the same time a quality and a behavior that places us in front of others, so we can say that humility can be practiced in any action we take. We do this, for example, in these situations:

• Discovering ourselves and others: understanding that we all have our experiences and circumstances and accepting the fact that we cannot judge the path of others without having walked in their shoes.
• Admitting our mistakes and learning to ask for forgiveness when we should: this is perhaps one of the most difficult attitudes to adopt because it puts us face to face with ourselves. For this reason, knowing how to forgive and learn from mistakes makes us humble.
• Understanding the limitations and freedoms we have: we are free to decide, to take paths towards one future or another, but within limitations. Knowing what defects hold us back will help us to overcome them humbly.
• Recognizing that we live in a society and that, as such, there are different people from different backgrounds, older or younger, more constant or more intelligent, etc… With respect for each other, taking into account the particularities, it is possible to follow. being humble.

• Praising the virtues of others in a sincere way: says a lot about what we are to have the ability to sincerely recognize the virtues of those around us as much as we do to ourselves. It’s not a hypocritical way to get closer to others, but to know that we all have our value, whether it’s already discovered or undiscovered.

The moth will always remember that it was a larva

Given all that has been said, humility is so valuable that the one who manages to achieve it will always remember how to maintain it. Because you will have been able to find harmony and inner peace. In addition, you will also have been able to move away from vanity and material attachment to things.

The moth will always remember that it was a larva because it knows it may fall at some point during its flight, and then it will understand that it is not the same thing to be humble and to have low self-esteem : the humility that overflows is very beautiful whenever we know what they are. the limits that we have, because otherwise we can harm ourselves.

Humility makes us perfect, that we become more kind and fraternal with ourselves and others, that we find more authentic people who really like us, that we value the effort to achieve what makes us happy, that we escape the traps of the ego…