"Fullness of knowledge always and necessarily means some understanding of the depths of our ignorance, and that is always conducive to both humility and reverence."
— Robert A. Millikan
Humility is a trait I'd like to more fully embrace. Pride is a significant personal flaw. For me, it mainly manifests intellectually. I often play off that I know more about things than I do - everything from comic books and D&D rule sets to physics principles and Eastern philosophy. It feels good to be knowledgeable and have people think I'm smart. It also feels good to be able to passionately discuss something with another person who knows it well which tempts me to exaggerate that I know it like they do, even when I don't.
Another place I could use humility is in my impatience and frustration with others. I hold others to the standards that I, myself, live by without fully understanding other peoples' motivations, circumstances, or individual situational limitations. And when my standards aren't met, I experience anger and agitation - road rage, disgust at my coworkers, disdain for humanity. This is not a healthy and productive way to live, nor does it make the most sense.
This week I will focus on humility.
- Acknowledge and embrace the limits of my knowledge rather than pretending I know more than I do to save face or appear intelligent or knowledgeable
- Accept input and advice from others and analyze it on its own merit rather than on my own internal comparison between myself and its provider
- Accept people as they are right now instead of holding them to my own arbitrary standard of behavior or conduct
- Admit when I'm wrong, when I've made a mistake, or when I've misunderstood something
- Allow others to be the knowledge expert and to teach me what they know
- Be willing to follow another person in conversation even if you don’t get to talk about your idea
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