Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Power of Humility: How Being Humble Can Help You Succeed in Life
    The Power of Humility: How Being Humble Can Help You Succeed in Life
    The Power of Humility: How Being Humble Can Help You Succeed in Life
    Ebook101 pages1 hour

    The Power of Humility: How Being Humble Can Help You Succeed in Life

    By Anthony Ekanem

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Words have enormous power. They can make us erupt into laughter or bring tears to our eyes. They can influence, inspire, manipulate and shock. They can build, and they can destroy.

    Some words have different effects on different people. One such word is humility. It is one of those words that are seldom in neutral gear. Some, like me, love the word and all it stands for. Some almost fear it and interpret it synonymously with lack of self-confidence or timidity. Humility is one of the virtues often mentioned in our everyday life.

    But what is humility? And is it a virtue? The dictionary defines humility as modesty, lacking pretence, not believing that you are superior to others. An ancillary definition includes: "Having a lowly opinion of oneself, meekness".

    An interesting dichotomy is that, often, the higher people rise, the more they have accomplished, the higher the humility index. Those who achieve the most brag the least, and the more secure they are in themselves, the more humble they are.

    There is also an understated humility of everyday people we work with who have the ability to get the job done without drawing attention to themselves. Witness the employee who is working at his computer into the late hours, purely motivated by a keen sense of duty, the executive assistant who stays after 5:30pm on a Friday night in an empty office to await a courier, or the manager who quietly cancels an important personal event to fly out of town to attend to the company's business. This is akin to the philanthropist who gives an anonymous donation.

    In this book, we will take a critical look at the subject matter of humility, the false assumptions people often make regarding it, and how it is an important quality for everyone to have. We will also provide you tips on how to exercise humility in your everyday life. Happy reading!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAnthony Ekanem
    Release dateNov 10, 2017
    ISBN9783963132858
    The Power of Humility: How Being Humble Can Help You Succeed in Life

    Read more from Anthony Ekanem

    Related to The Power of Humility

    Related ebooks

    Self-Improvement For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Parables Of Jesus

      Jun 16, 2023

      The Parables Of Jesus
      4 min read

    • Article

      Josh & Tara McCauley On A REDEMPTIVE Mission

      Sep 4, 2020

      Whilst his friends were out playing cops and robbers, a young Joshua would sit in the front row of church listening to the sermons of his dad (Rhema Church founder, Pastor Ray McCauley) blissfully unaware that one day he too would be standing behind

      10 min read

    • Article

      2. Don’t steal

      Jan 19, 2021

      2. Don’t steal
      2 min read

    • Article

      Stitching With Julian

      Jun 13, 2023

      Stitching With Julian
      1 min read

    • Article

      Are You A Submissive Woman

      Apr 23, 2021

      Are You A Submissive Woman
      4 min read

    • Article

      Do You Realise How Scary You Are?

      Dec 3, 2019

      Most managers know they need to create an environment where people can speak up in order to hear innovative ideas and avoid scandals. Research from a new book ‘Speak Up: Say what needs to be said and hear what needs to be heard’ (Financial Times Publ

      8 min read

    • Article

      ARE YOU Too Nice?

      Mar 20, 2022

      ARE YOU Too Nice?
      1 min read

    • Article

      Befriend Your Inner Critic

      Jan 19, 2024

      Befriend Your Inner Critic
      5 min read

    • Article

      Play The Kindness Game

      Jan 27, 2021

      Play The Kindness Game
      4 min read

    • Article

      Think Positive!

      Jun 16, 2021

      Think Positive!
      3 min read

    • Article

      Think Positive!

      Jun 16, 2021

      Think Positive!
      3 min read

    • Article

      How To Be Serene

      Oct 23, 2019

      How To Be Serene
      4 min read

    • Article

      ABOVE ALL, Be Kind

      Nov 20, 2019

      ABOVE ALL, Be Kind
      5 min read

    • Article

      Communicating With Empathy

      Nov 23, 2022

      Communicating With Empathy
      7 min read

    • Article

      Little Miss Important

      Jun 17, 2021

      Little Miss Important
      6 min read

    • Article

      “Is Life Worth Living?”

      Mar 4, 2019

      MY PURPOSE IS CHIEFLY to describe what is bothering a good many people today, rather than to go deeply into the causes of disquiet and unrest in the Western world, much less to offer remedies or advocate revolution. I take it for granted that we all

      15 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Power of Humility

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Power of Humility - Anthony Ekanem

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Understanding Humility

      The Virtues of Humility

      Historical Context of Humility

      Humility and Leadership

      How to Practise Humility

      Pride

      Humility and Confidence

      The Spiritual Aspect of Pride and Humility

      Humility in the Workplace

      Humility and Politics

      Characteristics of Humble People

      The Power of Humility

      Introduction

      Words have enormous power. They can make us erupt into laughter or bring tears to our eyes. They can influence, inspire, manipulate and shock. They can build, and they can destroy.

      Some words have different effects on different people. One such word is humility. It is one of those words that are seldom in neutral gear. Some, like me, love the word and all it stands for. Some almost fear it and interpret it synonymously with lack of self-confidence or timidity. Humility is one of the virtues often mentioned in our everyday life. 

      But what is humility?  And is it a virtue? The dictionary defines humility as modesty, lacking pretence, not believing that you are superior to others. An ancillary definition includes: Having a lowly opinion of oneself, meekness.

      We often confuse humility with timidity. Humility is not clothing ourselves in an attitude of self-abasement or self-denigration. Humility is all about maintaining our pride about who we are, about our achievements, about our worth – but without arrogance.  It is the antithesis of excessive, arrogant pride which often leads to the derailment of some corporate heroes, as it does with the downfall of the tragic hero in Greek drama. It is about a quiet confidence without the need for a meretricious selling of our wares. It is about being content to let others discover the layers of our talents without having to boast about them. It is a lack of arrogance, not a lack of aggressiveness in the pursuit of achievement.

      An interesting dichotomy is that, often, the higher people rise, the more they have accomplished, the higher the humility index. Those who achieve the most brag the least, and the more secure they are in themselves, the more humble they are.

      There is also an understated humility of everyday people we work with who have the ability to get the job done without drawing attention to themselves. Witness the employee who is working at his computer into the late hours, purely motivated by a keen sense of duty, the executive assistant who stays after 5:30pm on a Friday night in an empty office to await a courier, or the manager who quietly cancels an important personal event to fly out of town to attend to the company's business. This is akin to the philanthropist who gives an anonymous donation.

      Humility is also a meta-virtue. It crosses into an array of principles. For example, we can safely declare that there cannot be authenticity without humility. Why? Because, there is always a time in a leader's journey when one will be in a situation of not having all the answers. Admitting this and seeking others' input requires some humility.

      Another mark of a leader who practices humility is his or her treatment of others. Such leaders treat everyone with respect regardless of position. The sign of a gentleman is how he treats those who can be of absolutely no use to him.

      Something interesting happens, too, when we approach situations from a perspective of humility: it opens us up to possibilities, as we choose open-mindedness and curiosity over protecting our point of view. We spend more time in that wonderful space of the beginner's mind, willing to learn from what others have to offer. We move away from pushing into allowing, from insecure to secure, from seeking approval to seeking enlightenment. We forget about being perfect and we enjoy being in the moment.

      In this book, we will take a critical look at the subject matter of humility, the false assumptions people often make regarding it, and how it is an important quality for everyone to have.  We will also provide you tips on how to exercise humility in your everyday life.  Happy reading!

      Chapter 1

      Understanding Humility

      The dictionary definition of humility says: The quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank, etc. The definition of humility need not include timidity or becoming a wallflower. Instead, humility simply requires a man to think of his abilities and his actions as no greater, and no lesser, than they really are. Real humility then mandates that a man knows and is completely honest with himself. He honestly assesses what are, and to what magnitude he possess talents and gifts, struggles and weaknesses.

      Our popular image of manliness usually consists of a man with a cocky swagger, a rebel who blazes his own path and stands confident and ready to take on the world. Humility doesn’t seem to fit into this image. Humility oftentimes conjures up images of weakness, submissiveness, and fear. But this is a false idea of humility. Real humility is a sign of strength, authentic confidence, and courage. It is the mark of a true man.

      Humility is considered a state of being, highlighted by your behavior and approach to things. It’s also considered one of the virtues of the human condition, along with kindness, patience, diligence, charity, temperance and chastity.

      Humility is often thought to occur in the absence of pride. To C. S. Lewis, pride was about competition and therefore not a virtue. Pride manifests in people thinking they are cleverer or richer, for instance.

      Humility is the mother of all virtues; purity, charity and obedience. It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent. If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are. If you are blamed, you will not be discouraged. If they call you a saint, you will not put yourself on a pedestal.

      On the other hand, in the absence of pride, you find humility, which sees no need for competition. In humility, you are nothing more and nothing less than the other people around you. In essence, humility is not about hiding away or about becoming a ‘wallflower’, but it is about the realization that your abilities and actions are not better or less. Humility doesn’t require the ranking of things, but it calls for the understanding of the true value or worth of things.

      One important point about humility is how it can’t be faked. But this doesn’t mean humility is difficult; in fact, it’s one of the simplest things in the world. But the more you start thinking about how to be more humble, the harder you make it for yourself to actually be humble.

      Instead of focusing on the

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1