“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself…Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, and humility.”
– Nelson Mandela

Humility is a beautiful but lost virtue in today’s power seeking, narcissistic world. Harnessing the quiet power of humility is not something people readily seek out or learn.

With our culture placing tremendous value on worldly things such as fame, awards and accolades, notoriety, and outward appearances, humility gets lost in the sea drowned by the noise of egoistical desires. 

It’s not the favorite virtue to seek because humility requires us to be honest with our faults and to own up to our mistakes. But in the end, having humility is the path to joy and fulfillment by looking deeply within and taking the rights steps to improve.

People with humility take responsibility for their lives, are open to other’s suggestions, ideas and perceptions and have a self-controlled view of their skills, talents and abilities. They are happier because they live simply and know what really matters in their lives.

Being humble means knowing there’s a greater power working beyond ourselves and our own understanding. To accomplish our dreams and our heart’s desire, we need to surrender to God’s power knowing we can’t do this on our own. 

We need help, guidance, grace and strength to carry us through. We have to trust He will guide us through our journey, and He is in control. We are along for the ride and if we choose the right car to get in, we will arrive at the right destination in God’s time.

Here are some other ways humility is an important virtue to learn and harness. 

Humility is a Quiet Strong: 
Sometimes humility is perceived as a weakness. But in reality, it’s the opposite. To be humble is to be strong. 

A quiet strong. 

This type of quiet strength doesn’t need a loud speaker, a boisterous voice or the need to shout on a mountaintop. Humility is a strength that’s gentle, kind, nonjudgmental and the willingness to be of service to others.

Being humble relies on truth no matter how painful it is or how difficult it is to face our shortcomings and mistakes. It’s easier to push our suffering aside and ignore the faults we harbor. 

It takes great strength and wisdom to see our truth as it is unfiltered and raw. When we see our truth head on, we bow down to it with great honor and reverence encouraging us to change and become a better person. 

Humility Shows We are Human:
Being humble allows us to accept failures and mistakes with a deep understanding we are all human and one way or another we’ll make mistakes.

People with humility are able to handle failures because they don’t tie their accomplishments to their self-worth. Mistakes and accomplishments don’t define us. They are not who we are but only what we’ve done.

We are spiritual beings having a physical experience, so our self-worth is much more than the labels we own, the materials we possess, our corporate status or how many likes we get on Facebook. Humility knows we are deep souls and our lives meant to live with a higher calling and purpose.

Humility Opens the Door to Learning: 
No matter how much we know, there’s always more to learn. No matter how much an expert we are in something, there’s always someone who knows more than we do. 

To learn, we need an empty cup to fill more knowledge and wisdom. If we are overflowing with our egoistical views of ourselves, there’s no room to add anything of value and meaning. We stunt our personal growth and spiritual development.

But with humility, we open the door wide to expand our consciousness to gain a deeper understanding of life while simultaneously knowing we can never stop learning.  

Humility Teaches Compassion and Patience:
Being humble with an open heart unlocks the door to compassion. With humility we cultivate empathy, patience and tolerance towards one another.

Once we accept we are in a constant state of learning and growing, we see others with grace and mercy. We are no better than them and they are no better than us We are all learning and growing together.

It’s easy to comfortable around someone who is humble because we are free to be who we are. We don’t fear being judged or criticized because the humble ones don’t feel or act better than us. They understand when we make mistakes and are willing to hold our hand when we get back up.

Humility relieves the pressure of always needing to be on top. It’s exhausting to portray perfection and trying to perform at our best in every waking moment. 

But with our humble humanity we know perfection is not possible. Once we embrace and surrender to this truth, we can find peace. In this place of honest humility and integrity, we become servants of the world on a mission to spread love and help our fellow humans to bring out the best within each other. 

Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash