Humility Hurts

Nothing is quite so repulsive as a big ego, but deep in our hearts we all have one. It’s that soft, fleshy spot that we protect with our walls of excuses, justifications, and blame. We blame circumstances, we blame people, we blame anything and everything to protect that ego. Even criminals who plead guilty for their crimes defend their hearts, blaming their upbringing, drugs, or other situational factors.

We’ve all felt the defensiveness ramp up as soon as you get called out on something.  You could defend the silliest little thing if your ego is on the line. There are miles of online comment threads of people exchanging withering responses, desperate trying to make themselves look big and their opponent look small. It takes incredible strength to resist that urge and let it fizzle out.

Humility hurts, but it’s important to teach yourself that it’s ok when to be wrong, and it’s ok to publicly say “I was wrong.” That kind of attitude encourages openness and growth, rather than resistance and pride.