What does it mean to be humble?

I guess I would define it in a relatively positive sense, at least positive in that I don’t see humility as seeing yourself as inferior or subservient to anyone. I think that, having, at least, the capacity for humility, even if it is not something that completely defines your temperament and character, means that you understand that you are not inherently superior to anyone else, that you understand that you share the world with other people and are not the center of the universe, or anyone’s universe, including your own, and that you understand that your needs and desires do not necessarily supercede or override anyone else’s needs and desires, at any given time, or under any given circumstances.

Having a sense of relativity with regard to your own entitlements.

Humility is the attitude that comes with being comfortable with the wunderstanding his ownself, that one will not strive to have the appearance of being what he is not, Striving after such an appearance is usually done at the expense of your neighbor, which you try to show his faults and apparent mistakes.

How it works in real life is that you always assume the lesser position unless someone promotes you to the higher position or if the situation begs you to fill that role.

Assuming the lesser position does not make you less ( only to the one who is comfotable with the knowlwdge of self), and if indeed you are less, it gives you the opportunity to grow thereby.

The pompous is always at the forefront establishing a reputation usually by putting down those around him…when he is least, he strives to prove to all that ot is not so…and when he is greater, he strive to prove that he is the greatest.

It is the sound of one hand clapping.

That someone who is accomplished does not boast or trade on their accomplishments. They just go about doing what needs to be done quietly.

I think that a truly humble individual would not think of themselves as such. As long as one’s awareness includes a perception of self, they cannot be said to be humble.

Not drawing attention to yourself for your achievements. And often people who are humble do have achievements worth knowing about. The opposite might be a braggart: and these people often advertise their achievements that aren’t worth anything,

Bill W., one of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, described humility (the quality of being humble) as being “right-sized”; a recognition of one’s place in the world, neither too big and overly impressed with one’s self, or the false humility of thinking of your self as too small.

It requires self confidence without ego, and also no avoidance of responsibility in this world by denigrating the self. Self humiliation is not humility.

Part of being humble is to be mindful of when your ego is invested in being right, correcting others, taking a superior stance. One exercise is to not respond when another says or does something you ( your ego ) finds offensive. To just let it go and notice how it feels to your ego to take a hit of humility, to feel “reduced” without reaction.
It means as at @zenvelo ‘s sharing, to be confident but not egoic.

You can still assert yourself but there is no ego attached. As one spiritual teacher puts it, you can speak a “high quality” ” NO!” take a firm stand, but there is no ego involved, no need to diminish another. No sense of “self” involved.

I like to joke about a high quality ” fuck off!” lolol

Being humble means realizing that you do not know all of the answers to the world’s problems & it includes tolerance for other people.

To be humble is NOT just to step back and admit one’s mistake, to give credit where credit is due, to share accolades to subordinates, to forgive but also forget…to be humble is also to be SINCERE in every act of humility we do.

@mazingerz88 Well said, yes, sincerity and authenticity is what really counts. Intention IS everything!

@Coloma Agree. I always try to be sincere first before anything. If there’s no choice and I had to fake it to discourage strife, I fake it…but I don’t get any joyful satisfaction! Lol.

I guess I think of this in two ways:

1. In the general sense, being humble means realizing that every person has something to offer and there is something I can learn from everyone.

2. To be humbled though, means to be in awe.

@lolatu2 Yes, awe is part of it as well. Humbled, “awed” by the magnitude of the universe.
I was watching “prehistoric planet” last night and realizing that mankinds existence compared to the realm of the dinosaurs ruling for 250 million years is so insanely insignificant.
Our puny 70–100 year lifespan just doesn’t even compute in the grand scheme of the universe, not to mention that we only came on the scene at 11:59 on the universal clock. lol

Welcome to fluther!

I think that humility is about not being better (or worse) than anyone else. It is about respecting everyone. It is about not bragging or selling yourself, except through your actions.

I think it’s important to be humble, but I have found that being humble is not the same as appearing humble. I feel humble, for example, but I come across, according to reports, as if I know it all or I think I’m better than others. This is not actually true. In general, I feel much inferior to others in many ways. However, the way I ask questions and the way I talk seems to give people the impression that I think I am too smart to…. I don’t know…. pay attention to them?

So there is a difference between being humble and appearing humble. I have a choice now that I know about this. I can go out of my way to appear humble, probably by shutting up, if I want my appearance to match my inner being.

I don’t think I am going to do that.

I wouldn’t know; I have no reason to be humble :p

Seriously though, I find humility to be rather weak. I prefer being a realist, much as @zenvelo describes Bill W as. Where I differ with @zenvelo is that I equate humility with a lack of confidence.

It is possible to be modest, respectful, and/or down-to-Earth without losing your spine.

I don’t equate having humility as weakness or subservience. I also don’t liken a humble persona to a “martyr” type. For me, humility means not being overly and offensively boastful to where it could hurt someone else’s feelings or position if I can help it. Humility for me also means something we touched on in another thread, hope for the best but envision how you’ll react if you instead get a worse result or scenario – I ask myself if I’ll be able to take a higher ground, quietly. It doesn’t always work out but when it does, it feels better and less stressful than being a boor.