3 Easy Ways to Stay Painfully Humble

Always say the A-word (not the word you think).

Look, there’s my cocky friend again.

Talking crap like they own the whole school. Never having any remorse for their actions because they know they’re right. Showing off their skills for the “lesser developed” kids to drool at.

And for the most part, I’m surprised it worked for them that long.

No matter how many tough challenges they faced, they always told me that they’d get through it because they know they’re awesome. It’s a wrap. I’d be lying if I said they didn’t inspire me a little bit.

BUT, these were the same people I saw have a temper tantrum when they didn’t get there way. Every time they were painfully wrong and they knew it, they couldn’t apolo —

*Cough*

Sorry. They were allergic to the A-word.

They had huge problems with showing humility and that ultimately became a ticking time bomb when they went out into the real world. They came back to high school frequently because that was their only prime time. The high school days were the only days that meant something to them — they peaked.

I never want to be…you know…that kid. And I hope you don’t either.

Here are three painfully easy ways to be humble.

Always Apologize

I come from a family of hardcore apologizers. So whenever there was the slightest inkling in my mind that I did something wrong, I’d apologize immediately.

Half the time there was nothing to apologize for, but I learned growing up that the best way to show humility is to acknowledge that you’re not always right. And the best way to show that you’re not always right is to apologize for doing something potentially wrong.

It shows that you don’t have all the answers and you’re subject to critique like every other human being. I mean come on, you’re not immune to being wrong. Even Superman has his kryptonite.

Just let it out and say the A-word. You can do it.

Listen closely.

After you apologize for whatever you did wrong, it’s always important to listen closely to the right person.

“Ugghhhh….fine…..womp, womp, womp, womp.”

I know, it’s hard. It’s hard for me to swallow my pride and listen closely to anyone too especially with my low attention span. But you can’t treat the person you’re listening to like you’re on the phone with one of Charlie Brown’s friends.

Think about it like this, if you can’t challenge yourself to listen to the advice of others, you’re always going to be the biggest roadblock to your success.

You’re the chubby one and the person who’s giving you the advice is the buff bodybuilder. It’s clear who has to listen to who for a better-looking body.

So you have to take their advice.

Thank others for their help.

I’ll be honest, when I struggled to death in math class, I never asked for help.

I didn’t want to get tutored by my teacher and I didn’t even want to ask my friends for help out of embarrassment. After I failed calculus the first quarter of the school year, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. So I went to my math teacher almost every day for tutoring and little by little, I became less ashamed of the help I got.

Every day I left her room, I made sure to thank her for her help.

She didn’t have to do it and when people get cocky, they tend to get bitter at themselves because they asked for help rather than thanking the person that just gave it to them. I’m serious, they get way too in their feelings.

What would you do if you were in the Karate Kid right now?

Are you really not going to thank your sensei for helping you win a martial arts championship? And umm, helping you defend yourself against blood-thirsty bullies AND getting the girl?

Please say thank you. It can make someone’s day and make you more humble.

Final Thoughts

Humility is something you grew up with or you didn’t. And there’s a glaring difference between confidence and cockiness.

People can smell a cocky person from a mile away and the stench is fouler than three-year-old chicken (I’ve smelled it before).

Humility is the key to everyone’s heart.

Once a stranger sees a humble person that’s willing to learn, apologize, and thank other people for helping them in their lives, it’s a no-brainer that they’ll gravitate towards you. They’ll cling to you without question.