The Key to Endless Growth

What if there was a way to control the amount of growth we experience throughout our lives. Continue to grow endlessly until we perish; that would be ideal, yeah? Although personal growth may not be quite endless, it is most definitely controllable.

Per Merriam Webster Dictionary, humility is defined as the freedom from pride or arrogance [1]. It’s more commonly referred to as being humble. I’m sure you’ve heard this many times throughout your life, “be humble,” “don’t let it get to your head.” All of this is true, but is it possible to be too humble? How do you find a good balance between being humble and being confident? Confidence is another important trait to have. Confidence allows us to believe in ourselves and our abilities. Humility ultimately allows us to understand that we are not boundless, or rather, we are not perfect.

Combining these two, results in confident humility. Recently I read this enlightening book by Adam Grant, Think Again. Part of the text focuses on “Extraordinary Humility.” Grant investigates how experts in various fields are so successful. They know so much in their respective field, yet they continue to learn new things. He goes on to claim, “Arrogance leaves us blind to our weaknesses. Humility is a reflective lens: it helps us see them clearly. Confident humility is a corrective lens: it enables us to overcome those weaknesses.”

CONFIDENT HUMILITY IS A CORRECTIVE LENS: IT ENABLES US TO OVERCOME OUR WEAKNESSES

ADam Grant

However the danger with confidence is, if we are not careful it can lead to arrogance. No one actually tries to be arrogant, but those who are arrogant, usually don’t even realize it. You may feel like you know it all, untouchable, and may genuinely mistake this feeling for confidence. The key to not becoming arrogant is ensuring you remain humble, but finding a good balance between confidence and humility can be challenging. It’s almost as if they’re opposites; confidence wants you to believe in yourself and your abilities…humility is essentially saying we need to remind ourselves that we don’t know everything.

These may be a bit conflicting at first glance, but when you begin to process these two ideals, you can understand they in fact work hand-in-hand. You can be confident and humble at the same time. Understanding that there are limits to your general knowledge, but being confident in your current knowledge and abilities. Accepting your faults, even if they’re in things you truly excel at, because you realize that accepting your faults and admitting you are wrong ultimately allows you to grow and learn even more, eluding complacency.

Very few enjoy being wrong, but being wrong in-turn allows us to continue to learn and grow. It’s important to remember that we are not perfect. In our current society, there’s a tremendous amount of media that perpetuates perfection. Don’t let this fool you – no one is perfect, we all have flaws. Remain humble enough to admit that you are not perfect. Be happy and confident with who you are as a person. Accept and own your flaws. Learn from them, correct them, and become a better version of yourself. Adopting these mindsets into our daily lives can allow us all to move one step closer to endless growth.

References
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humility
[2] Grant, Adam Forrest. Think Again. Penguin Random House LLC, 2021.