Tag Archives: Humility

“An expert is someone who, over many years, manages to remain confident enough to keep trying and humble enough to keep learning.”

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“An expert is someone who, over many years, manages to remain confident enough to keep trying and humble enough to keep learning.”

—James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

Image of Pablo Casals from britannica.com

When asked why he continued to practice the cello three hours a day at the age of 93, Pablo Casals answered: “I’m beginning to notice some improvement.”

My dad, who passed away last March at the age of 94, loved golf. He took up this pastime at the age of 69 and played three days a week in almost any weather. Although he was not what others would call an expert, you could find him on most days swinging a dinged-up yardstick and putting on his carpet during commercial breaks of the golf channel or a televised tournament.

EXERCISE:

Where in your personal or professional life are you still passionate about enhancing your expertise and mastery?  Where do you remain confident to keep trying and humble enough to keep learning?

“Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars.”

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“Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars.”

—Serbian Proverb

Image from Unsplash by Noah Buscher

Who are the people in your communities that you consider humble and kind?

Sometimes we refer to these special folks as being “down to earth.” What other qualities do you see in them that make them so grounded and solid?

How many of the same people also demonstrate noble qualities? These are the people who not only shine, but they also energize and illuminate those around them. They tend to attract others with a gravitational force that holds things together.

EXERCISE:

If you asked these questions of your family, friends, and colleagues, how many of them would put YOU on their list?

What efforts can and will you take to be this proverbial person in the days and years ahead?

#7: “I long to accomplish a great and noble task…”

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“…but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as if they were great and noble.”

– Helen Keller

People know me as a bit of a junkie for anything to do with personal growth and development. I encourage my clients to reach for the highest heights, realize their visions, and turn their dreams into reality.

And yet life doesn’t always look this way. We all have chores to do, meals to prepare, beds to make, even, for me, cat litter to clean up.

This quote helped me not to struggle with the seemingly small and menial tasks of life. At the end of each day, when I shift from being a business leader and coach that top people come to, I clean the kitty litter, change the water, and make sure the cats’ world is OK.

I could pay someone else to do that for me – but I find some nobility, honor, and humanity in serving these little creatures.

Exercise:

Where can you shift your perspective and find nobility and greatness in your small, daily tasks? It’s easy to think that the drudgery isn’t our “real life” … but we need to find that nobility in the day-to-day.

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