13 HABITS OF HUMBLE PEOPLE

BY Jeff boss

Humble people can receive a bad rap. Humility is
frequently associated with being too passive,
submissive or insecure, but this couldn’t be any
further from the truth.
Instead, humble people are quite the opposite—
confident and competent in themselves so much
that, as a result, they seek to self-actualize by
helping theirs. Humble people are still self-
efficacious; they just don’t feel the impetus to
boast about themselves but instead, let their
actions speak for their ideals. To be humble is not
to think less of oneself, but to think of oneself less.
To help identify what humble looks like (and how
you can adopt greater humility for yourself. After
all, who doesn’t need greater humility?), here are
13 habits of humble people:
They’re Situationally Aware
Situational awareness is a function of emotional
intelligence as it is being aware of oneself, the
group, the actions of each and the social dynamics
therein. As such, situationally aware people aim
their focus outward as they try to absorb (i.e.
learn) more about the situation
They Retain Relationships
Studies have shown that humble people are more
likely to help friends than their prideful
counterparts. As a result, they maintain stronger
personal and professional relationships. A study of
more than 1,000 people—with roughly 200 in
leadership positions—revealed that companies with
humble people in leadership positions had a more
engaged workforce and less employee turnover.
They Make Difficult Decisions With Ease
Since humble people put others’ needs before their
own, when faced with difficult decisions they
respect the moral and ethical boundaries that
govern the decision and base their decision-making
criteria off a sense of shared purpose rather than
self-interest.
They Put Others First
Humble people know their self-worth. As a result,
they don’t feel the need to cast themselves before
others just to show them how much they know.
Instead, humble people realize that nobody cares
how much they know until those people know how
much they’re cared for.
Humility is the true key to success. Successful
people lose their way at times. They often embrace
and overindulge from the fruits of success.
Humility halts this arrogance and self-indulging
trap. Humble people share the credit and wealth,
remaining focused and hungry to continue the
journey of success.
They Listen
There’s nothing more annoying that being in a
conversation with somebody who you can just tell
is dying to get his or her words in. When you see
their mental gears spinning, it’s a sign they’re not
listening but rather waiting to speak. Why?
Because they believe that what they have to say is
more valuable than listening to you. In other
words, they’re placing their self-interest first.
Humble people, however, actively listen to others
before summarizing the conversation. Moreover,
humble people don’t try to dominate a
conversation or talk over people. They’re eager to
understand others because they’re curious.
Speaking of which…
They’re Curious
Humble people seek knowledge because they are
perpetual learners and realize that they don’t have
all the answers. They glean knowledge from the
experiences of others and crave more opportunities
to learn.
They Speak Their Minds
While active listening is certainly important, humble
people aren’t afraid to speak their minds because
being wrong is not a fear they have. They know
that to bridge the gap between unwillingness and
willingness there must be action; they summon the
courage to face difficulty as they graciously accept
to sacrifice themselves.
They Take Time To Say “Thank You”
At a business dinner, for example, no matter
whether you’re engaged in a heated conversation
with others or not, humble people take the time to
express thanks to the service for tending to the
little things.
They Have An Abundance Mentality
Humble people don’t believe that one person’s
“win” necessarily mean another person’s “loss.”
Instead, they know there’s plenty of opportunity to
go around and that finding it just necessitates
collaboration and communication.
They Start Sentences With “You” Rather Than “I”
Humble people put others at the forefront of their
thoughts. Humble people brag about others, while
the prideful people brag about themselves.
They Accept Feedback
Humble people are not only receptive to
constructive criticism but actively seek it because
they know that feedback is a pathway to
improvement.
They Assume Responsibility
Rather than eschewing blame on “the system” or
the behaviors of others, humble people assume
responsibility by speaking up and owning their
part.
They Ask For Help
Part of being humble means realizing that you
don’t have all the answers. No one does. Humble
people acknowledge what they do and do not know
and enlist help for the latter.
Humility displays a willingness to learn and
become better–two things that everybody should
cultivate. # behumble