Max Beaumont

Don't Be Humble With Yourself (Some Thoughts From The Weekend)

Added 2024-01-09 15:36:25 +0000 UTC

Don't be humble with yourself.

When I say "don't be humble", I don't mean feed yourself with vapid self-congratulatory statements like "I'm the best and better than the rest".

I mean when you do something, simply acknowledge it. If you figure out a problem in your head, stop for a second and recognize that you did that. "I'm good at figuring _____ types of things out".

This can apply to when you fix/build something, create a piece of art, or, have a positive interaction with someone. All of these experiences can be followed with "I love that I can do that" or "I really am good at that and I like that about myself".

I think this is healthy. You're being positive but realistic. You're feeding yourself with honest feedback, but you’re not being meek, indirect or modest — you’re not necessarily being humble with yourself. And that’s okay.

If you genuinely believe that you're good at something and get satisfaction from that, you won't feel that same need to inflate or brag (which often manifests as arrogance, the opposite of humility). You're good with you, so you don't need that same outside validation. And as a result you can ACTUALLY be more humble.

So, perhaps the message is this:

Don't be humble with yourself, so you can be humble with the world.