Life Lesson: Humility

I would like to think the majority of the time I am sufficiently humble.  But right off the bat I disagree with that statement because if I'm going to be humble why not be completely humble instead of going half way or even 99%.  That goes for a lot of things as well but today my thoughts are on humility.

I've made a lot of mistakes lately.  You may be thinking, "Oh man, another perfectionist!"  This is true, I am.  Regardless I really feel like I've dropped the ball regarding my family, friends, school, and church responsibilities.  When I ask my inner self how this came about, the feeling I get is I have been prideful.  I seem to be running my own little "Nephites" scenario.  Therefore the reason I decided to write about this is to act as a warning voice for others; as well as offering suggestions on how to eliminate pride.

Pride is a destructive state of being.  It tears apart friendships, it ravages homes, and slowly degrades the individual.  It is manipulative and selfish.  Pride feeds on fear, loneliness, and low self-esteem.  It categorizes and stereotypes, and judges other people.  Pride has no foundation and is constantly pushing down on anything and anyone to get even a little higher.  It delights in mediocrity and relishes in insecurity.  Pride is many many other things.

In the Book of Mormon, Alma the younger in Alma chapter 32 shares insights on humility.  The phrase that always comes to mind is verse 14, "And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?"  Being compelled to be humble isn't easy, and it isn't fun.  To the prideful individual it can even be quite painful, especially when they realize the pain they have caused in others.


Here are my suggestions to eliminating pride.

1. Pray to whatever God you believe in and thank him (or her) for anything you can think of.
2. Serve others everyday.  Be thoughtful.  Even schedule a regular time to volunteer somewhere.
3. Learn something new.  The more you study the more you'll realize how little you know.
4. Live life as an adventure.  Take risks.  There's something to learn from every experience.
5. Believe in other people.  Look for and bring out other people's great potential.

There are many more ways to do it, but these are the ones close to my heart.  In no way am I perfect at any of these, hence the reason I'm writing about it.  My only wish is to act as a warning voice and help someone else.  It is my prayer that we may be counted among those who humble themselves.


MGBWY