Saturday, May 16, 2026

On Humility

 Humility is a tough beast to slay.*

One would be better served to be more Franklin, Socrates, or at the highest level like Jesus. 

Open to debate. Open to being wrong. Avoid making dogmatic statements. 

To aide in the impossible pursuit of humility, abstain from concrete positions or words like certainly, undoubtedly, or if being a smart a** 'Wouldn't you agree with the [experts/statistics]'.  

Instead, leave room for a difference of opinion in your statements with others; use words and phrases that leave room for others like 'seems' or 'appears' as in 'it seems to me at this time...' or 'it would appear...' 

At the simplest level 'Yes and' works wonderfully. Replying to a substantive point with a 'Yes and [followed by your thoughts on the matter]' makes for a more enjoyable interaction - even if you are disagreeing with their statement. 

Instead of directly attacking positions in a polemic manner, ask questions. A question can introduce counter positions without making it yours. A position is something you are temporarily holding on to, not something you are; positions should be allowed to change. 

Be changeable - upward. 


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*More of a note for me than any other reader. To be more humble is a great pursuit even if its absolute success is unlikely. 

On Humility

 Humility is a tough beast to slay.* One would be better served to be more Franklin, Socrates, or at the highest level like Jesus.  Open to ...