Pride and humility

I had a conversation this morning that I want to pass on. It began with a few comments about a person known to both of us who is driven by the legacy they will leave behind. This person is an academic who would enjoy knowing that a building or departmental school in some university had been named after them.

But the greatest people I have known have handed down a legacy not of fame, not of renown, not even of wealth. It is the legacy of humility. Unfortunately, humility has an arch enemy we all struggle with at one time or another. It is that of pride.

Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing that says we shouldn’t be proud of our accomplishments, our family, or the things we hold dear. But pride is not about being proud of those things. It is a positional arrogance that flaunts your victories over others. Pride takes pleasure in being “better” than others. Pride enjoys the defeat of others and their defeated spirits. Pride competes to be at the top of the heap. I hope you get what I mean. Sadly, some of you will not.

Humility is antithetical to pride. Humility is not about letting the world around you know how good you are or about what you have done. Humble people never talk about themselves and would never think of talking about all that they have achieved. Humble people favor others and always let you feel like you are the most important person in the room.

Want to leave a legacy? Leave one that will have people remembering the greatness that you never talked about. Leave a legacy of humility, of real character.