Humility is hard work, but it's worth it

Humility is demanding, much more so than we imagine when we demand it (usually from others), irritated by the mere sensation of arrogance we experience when interacting with others. The effort comes from the challenge humility presents: containing one's ego, accepting that one isn't always the center or the best, not raising a finger to lecture others, not feeling like the bearer of an unlikely Truth.

Yet there's a very simple way to recognize the value of humility, and practice it without pretense: acknowledging your mistakes. In scientific jargon, it's called "intellectual humility," a synonym for "intellectual honesty." In practice, it means not defending one's positions to the bitter end, beyond the bounds of reason, simply out of principle and out of the completely unfounded fear of being perceived as weak when acknowledging one's mistakes.

Humble people recognize the limits of each and every one of us, they are protected from the danger ofhubris, They cultivate and nurture the art of tolerance, they have the awareness and conscience to recognize that we can all make mistakes, even more than once. And it's never too late to recognize it. Those who reject humility a priori, however, exhibit the sagging muscles of narcissism, They display a brazen and unnecessary self-confidence even in the face of irrefutable evidence contradicting their predictions. They simply wait for the wave that threatens to overwhelm them to subside, so that they can once again pass unscathed through the test of their blunders—blurred, obvious, but erased the moment they are not recognized.

Thought narcissists, a human subspecies of narcissists short, They fall in love with their ideas, to the point of not caring if this peremptory attitude is ruining relationships, especially human ones. Humility, on the other hand, is a powerful lever for fostering new relationships or strengthening existing ones: it contains a healthy dose of tolerance and doesn't need to be fed by the source of defensive aggression.

Whoever knows how to exercise the virtue of humility naturally and without artificial constructions, is less distrustful and more curious, and is able to cultivate the doubt,The only vehicle that leads to the truth. He isn't afraid of confrontation, he isn't afraid of diversity (and not just that of opinions), and he doesn't consider life a constant tug-of-war.