Humility

“Oh Lord, it is hard to be humble, when I am perfect in every way…” sings Marc Davis, a popular country singer in 1970s. Well, what do you think? Of course, only a few people think they are absolutely perfect in everything. But being humble is very difficult if you live in a competitive and individualistic environment.

Many people still fail to distinguish humility and humbleness, the state of being humble, from inferiority. Inferiority is a self-negating attitude that often makes people feel shy and afraid to do everything. Even sometimes they also underestimate their own ability (not self-confidence). On the other hand, being humble is the attitude in which a person can position himself not to be too self-assured, knowing that he is imperfect and more respectful of others. Being humble is an important attitude that everyone should have because it is one of the indicators of a person's high spiritual intelligence. The question now is that this particular attitude is increasingly rare in modern societies in which people are getting more and more individualistic and competitive.

So, what can we do to make sure if we are humble?

Here are 5 signs that we are a humble person:

• Do not feel the need to boast yourself
  A humble person does not feel the need to boast about the accomplishments he has achieved to get the attention of others. Well, sometimes we are tempted to be noticed, right? The humble person feels quite content with himself and does not feel the need to be in the spotlight for his accomplishments. It's not just the achievements that define who we are, but also about the little things we do every day.
• Be able to show empathy
  Humble is closely related to empathy. Try your best to understand the other person's position and do not  judge the situation or circumstances being experienced. Don’t show empathy only to the people closest to you but also to those you don’t know and who are less fortunate. Also, try to help as much as possible and to be useful without thinking about what the benefits of empathizing to others.
• Be glad to make other people happy
  Always keep in mind how we can impact and benefit others so that others can smile and we become happy. Find out how we can enjoy contributing positively to the betterment of other people’s life without expecting anything in return. There is one friend of mine who is always happy to help people, when I asked, “What on earth makes you really intend to do this?” And then he answered briefly “Frankly speaking, I don’t know. I  simply feel happy to see them better, there is great satisfaction.”
• Be willing to accept criticism and suggestions
  Being able to accept criticism and advice without thinking negatively will help us to have a humble nature.       Perhaps this will be difficult if we do not have sincerity of heart. Every criticism will form us into a person           who is not just humble but even better.
• Accept people just the way they are

Accepting one's strength will be easier than accepting their shortcomings or weaknesses. Nobody is perfect                   and free from sin and error. Do not focus on a person's mistakes. If we are willing to accept the shortcomings               and strengths of someone, we will be more able to appreciate them.

To conclude, if we used to love to boast about what we have and who we are, now let’s stop doing it. It is true that feeling proud of being the center of attention and being the talk of others because of our intelligence, wealth, or looks is not a sin; but what are the benefits? Apart from all the things we have done, humility is a self-attitude which is assessed by others. Ebet Kadarusman, a popular TV quiz master of TVRI in 1980s, always closed his show by saying, “It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.”