Hi I’m Sea and I’m here to share some things I learnt from the A Path to Humility Growth Path created by MidwesternCalmSeeker! This is my first time making a big forum post so please forgive me if I make any mistakes :)

What is humility?

Let’s start with a quote that really sparked my interest in this growth path:

“Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself one way or the other at all.” -- William Temple When we think of humility, we might think of it as a virtue, something to practice in order to help us realize and accept our weaknesses which leads to self-improvement, or a path to become a better person. These are all valid ways to think about humility but who would’ve thought of it as a type of freedom?

Why is humility important?

Besides having freedom from thinking about ourselves, humility benefits our physical health, mental health, relationships, and spirituality. It helps us realize our mistakes and lead to more meaningful apologies and forgiveness. Research has shown that people are more likely to forgive their offenders if the offender shows regret and admits their mistakes.

A concrete example of this is the case of Karla Faye Tucker, who was executed for a brutal murder. She expressed great humility toward the families involved and toward God, and received a statement of forgiveness and support from one of the children of the people she had murdered.

On the contrary, what is wrong with not being humble, or in other words, being proud? Keep in mind that the word “proud” refers to the feeling of superiority or arrogance or total self-sufficiency in this context. People tend to dislike proud people, cut them out of social groups and act negatively toward them. Carrying that pride around can be burdensome. Like all other virtues, there are two types of humility- decisional and emotional humility. You can decide to act humbly without experiencing the authentic, emotional experience of being humble. Or you can experience humility without having made a conscious decision to act humbly; it just seems to happen. We can all agree that the latter, emotional humility is what we want to achieve. The question now is then, how do we do it? How to achieve humility? PROVE It! P = Pick a Time When You Weren’t Humble Pick a time when you weren’t humble and write two versions of the story, once where you write about it normally with as much detail as possible, another where you pretend like this is a story about someone else instead of you. Notice the differences between the two versions. Think about if you witnessed someone else doing or saying the same thing, what advice would you give? What could have happened differently?

R = Remember Your Abilities and Achievements

Think about a time when you accomplished something. What could you have done before, during, and after the event to treat it with humility?

Pride can often lead to success and other positive events but compared to a success that is brought about from humility and valuing others, it is significantly more short term and temporary.

O = Open Yourself and Be More Adaptable

It is important to be open and adaptable so as to not be judgemental towards other people. Judgment puts us on a pedestal of pride that assumes to know everything going on in a person’s situation. By understanding that there is more out there than we can know, and that we are all fallible human beings, we are actively working to become humble.

V = Value All Things to Lower Self-Focus

Take out a sheet of paper, and write down things you are thankful for.

Keep the sheet in a place where you will be sure to see it often.

Remind yourself of them often.

Scientists have begun to show that an attitude of gratitude can produce better health. In fact, just writing down things you are grateful for each day can result in better health.

E = Examine Your Limitations and Commit to a Humble Lifestyle

Think about an event which you admire for its humility. Maybe it’s a confession or a selfless act.

It can be hard to practice humility, so next time when you feel pride: Realize it doesn’t make you a bad person. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that you have chosen to live a more humble lifestyle.

Finally, let me end this post with the story of a pencil (based on the last lesson of the growth path): It has a short life, yet it can make a significant mark, just like you. It is not a pen. Its mistakes can be corrected with effort, but it often means standing the pencil on its head. Neither its mistakes nor its achievements are permanent. For the pencil – like you – what is inside, not outside, is responsible for its mark. The pencil needs to be ground down and sharpened regularly, so don’t despise the sharpening that you must undergo. Often humility can be difficult and unpleasant, but if you let your selfishness and pride go on and on, you will end up dull, and nobody will understand what you’re writing.

Overall, this path was very informative and insightful and I would recommend everyone to try it! https://www.7cups.com/path/playlist/a-path-to-humility/

Are you aware of a precious growth path which you feel deserves a forum post to be made on it? Message @fristo