Stupid “Humility”

I was mad at myself when it suddenly hit that I had been daft for a long time – in the name of modesty.

Now to explain what I mean, let me start with a little story.

So, there I am sitting down with a team member who is also on the MBA. We are seated right in front of a Professor of Economics. I am about to write a mini-thesis and I have done some preliminary work on the subject area, which is actually an innovative fusion of business and marketing strategy with a huge element of bio-technology, and from a publishing perspective.

Sound intriguing, right?

So I outline my thoughts and research methodology to the professor who listens wide-eyed, and then, humbly, I start to talk about all the gaps in my research so far, the things I have not done, the mistake I made – so I do not come across as proud – and of course, he picks up the vibe, doesn’t exactly lambast me because he is intrigued at the angle from which I approached the subject matter, but then berates me on the flaws I handed to him on a platter.

When it is over, I am standing outside the room with my Russian friend and close pal, who looks me in the eye and says “why do you shoot yourself in the leg? You had a good thing going, but then you talked about things you didn’t need to say”

It’s been years since that time, but I have  come to see that many smart, brilliant and gifted people who are sensitive and want to do what is right end up withholding their gifts, their talents, their skills…because they want to be “humble”. In doing so, they further hide their abilities, talk down their good side(s) and then wonder why people who are not as half as smart as they are get all the good stuff.

Bill Gates once said, if he had a good product, the world will beat a path to his door. HOWEVER, years later (and with age comes experience), he said, if he had a good product, he would shout about it from the rooftops. Being humble is a state of mind and hence you can alter that state of mind consciously.

Restricting the value you can provide to others or painting it in poor light is quite another matter.

So I started to go through my education, certifications, training, experience, skills, expertise, gifting and abilities and all I could say to myself was

“WOW! Stop hiding, dolt! Step into the light!”

Indeed, humility is very different from humiliating yourself!