And the Word is….

There is a lot flying around the internet about having a “word of the year”. This is a trend I have largely ignored- until I started to observe a theme in discussions in these early days of 2020 which gave me pause to think that perhaps there is a word that has chosen me. Whether the conversation has been about how to be a better leader, or about how to grow a business into a new country- or how to develop into a better version of oneself, the word that keeps coming up is “humility”.

Not exactly a new concept, but also one that remains counter-culture in our “success-oriented” world. As with many truths, the reality is that humility is an essential ingredient to attain the most important heights of success- but then that requires defining what success actually is. If success to you involves being open to learning, to understanding others, to getting better at your craft, to being someone worth following- then humility is fundamental. If success to you can be distilled into short term gains (financial, promotions, recognition- whatever the measure) at the expense of the long term, then maybe humility is less key.

Humility requires being willing to not be recognized, being willing to serve others without expecting anything in return, and being willing to accept less with grace. As a parent, we teach our kids to work hard and to try to win- but is it win at all cost- for our kids or for us? Intuitively we know that if, in our homes and communities and workplaces, everyone exercised greater humility, the world would be a better place. The challenge comes in when the concept goes from theoretical to practical- and when we don’t get what we feel we “deserve”.

My thinking, is that exercising greater humility is really playing the long game of life. It allows for deeper investments in relationships. It provides opportunities to learn from mistakes- which means getting better at the things worth mastering, at least in the long run. As C.S. Lewis once said, “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” So here is to a new year, and to focusing on thinking about ourselves less- which is really so much more!