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Self Awareness Topic Words of Wisdom

Bring It Down a Notch

Bring it down a notch. Be humble for Humble Day.

What does it mean to be humble? What do you think of when you hear this word? On Wednesday, February 22 it’s all about being humble. Take this day and ground yourself. Bring it down a notch. Do not brag, boast or exhibit pride. It is a day to come down to earth and come to grips with the fact that you are not perfect. Think of ways to humble yourself.

Remember that we are human and make mistakes. Accept that and embrace it. Even if you do not accept the faults and imperfections of others, do it for yourself. Put your ego aside. For some, this is a hard thing to do. Just practice some humility and you will see and feel the difference.

Being a well-accomplished person is no small feat. Just try to keep it under wraps for the day. It does not mean that you have low self-esteem or are downgrading what you have achieved. Instead, about having that personal knowledge of your achievements and not feeling the need to verbalize them at every turn.

Examples

Listen to others who are speaking, without interrupting. This shows the person that you are truly listening to what they have to say. You are putting them first in that moment and not just concerned with what you have to say.

Pride has no place on Humble Day. Put others first. Doing so opens us up to new experiences. When we get out of our own head, we have room to grow and see things from another perspective.

Be mindful of your actions and words. Being mindful shows that even though you may feel a certain way, keep it to yourself and consider the other person’s feelings. Little things do matter.

For those with children, teach them how to humble themselves. Explain to them why it can change their outlook and make them go deeper to learn some things about themselves.

Instead of seeking out attention, give attention to someone else. See how you feel afterward.

Outcomes

Come to the realization that life is not always about ourselves but about embracing others too. When we celebrate others, it is all a trickle affect and it comes back around.

Know that boasting proves nothing. Keeping it to yourself sometimes can be a good thing. Your accomplishments will be obvious. No need to brag and tell everyone. Your inner light will shine through.

Humbling yourself does not diminish who you are. The practice of being humble gives us the chance to look outside of ourselves and see other things and people. It forces us to see life through a new and different lens.

Bring It Down a Notch

Putting away the selfishness and pride truly does make a difference to all mankind. When we humble ourselves, we are more likely to help others. This practice lends us with more awareness of what is happening around us and in the world. It is a way of enlightenment.

Humble Day is on February 22nd but who says it has to end there. If you have a humbling experience that changed your life, consider sharing. It may inspire others and let them see the light. If you don’t want to share, that’s okay too. Go back to that moment and use that experience as an example to guide your actions on Humble Day.

Image credit: Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Categories
Self Awareness Topic Words of Wisdom

Wealth or Friends

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Is it better to be wealthy with little to no true friends or humble/poor with many friends?

Wealth affords a lot of things. Alternatively, having friends are an advantage too. You can consider yourself rich if you have both wealth and a network of friends. True friends. Sometimes when people are financially wealthy, they have people around them but not necessarily all of them can be called a friend. You know, there are groupies, moochers, free loaders, etc. It can be hard to tell if those people are truly your friend or just hanging around because of what you have. And more importantly, what they can get from you. Call it what it is, I’m sure you have all seen this scenario before.

The Upside of Financial Wealth

Photo by Mackenzie Marco on Unsplash
  • No worrying about paying bills
  • Buy what you want, when you want
  • Dream vacation is possible
  • Can save and/or invest your money
  • Donate to your favorite charity
  • Party hard

The Upside of Having Friends

Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
  • No worrying about being lonely or bored
  • Companionship is there
  • Having friends provides an emotional support system
  • A listening ear is just a phone call away in those times when you just need to talk
  • Feeling of community
  • Social life is always possible

Being humble/poor with many friends gives you the feeling that the people in your life are there for you. They are not concerned with what you have or do not have. You don’t have to wonder if they are around for some other reason. Genuine friends are hard to come by and when you don’t have much in the way of material things, but you have friends, that is nothing to take lightly.

Having money is good but it comes with some downsides too. Like not knowing who has an agenda or ulterior motive. You can buy many things with money, but you can’t buy friends or love. Money does not buy happiness.

On the other hand, having friends does provide happiness. You have people around you to celebrate you and in return; you them. Maybe being humble/poor causes stress in your life. That friend(s) sometimes makes it all better when they still visit you. They don’t judge you for your humble wardrobe or humble home.

What say you? wealth or friends?