I have been remained on uneasy term with the idea of humility. Back in my school days, I used to equate this with ‘humiliation’, though quite wrongly I know. However, even many years after my graduation, I couldn’t grasp the true essence of both- the word and idea of humility. As for me, self-confidence was something antagonistic to this very notion of humility.
In my understanding, a humble person couldn’t taste the varied flavors of self-confidence. At its extreme, a humility can be a self-fulfilling exercise but not an inspiration to accomplish something worthwhile. I kept believing that a person being humble would accept the defeat readily and his spirit could be overcome easily by the mighty circumstances.
But I accept I was wrong in holding such an idea. Why I was holding such a view at first place ? My ignorance of the idea might be the reason or our prevailing masculine notion of strength that negates all kinds of soft strengths in human self. Or it might be the violence of the age in which I forced to live that equates power with supremacist attitudes based on racial or political prejudices. Breathing in such an environment will may write off humility as a strength of human character.
As I experienced later in my life that humility is not good or bad; it is rather a finest human value. Humility is a strength because it persists and it stays longer than superficial displays of confidence or egoistic and troubled notions of racial superiority.
A person with misplaced confidence can experience attitudinal issues, however, a person with humility will find ways how to live healthy life. Humility is a humane as it informs us about our vulnerabilities; it is soft as it makes us empathize with our fellow humans; it is consistent as it connects us with our surroundings, and it is powerful as it gives meaning to our being self-confident.
It is humility upon which grows everlasting self-confidence, and other-way round may not be true always.