“I should come over there and smack you in the face for saying that.”
No. I’m not talking about Will Smith 😁.
A friend told me this over the phone earlier in the week. It was the best thing anyone’s said to me in a while. Seriously.
What preceded my buddy’s threat was me saying, “They could easily find another Trent Meacham to take my place.”
It was an attempt to sound humble. In reality, it was filled with more insecurity than humility.
Humility gets a lot of attention. I heard it was important as an athlete. I hear it’s important as a businessman. My sons hear (from me) it’s important as kids. It’s an easy thing to get misconstrued, but humility has NOTHING to do with devaluing or belittling oneself.
C.S. Lewis’s definition of humility is so good – “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less.”
The distinction is subtle in those words, but it’s significant.
At times, humility has seemed to be at odds with confidence. And we know being confident is essential to be our best in anything.
I recently heard Rory Vaden contrast these two traits. He said, “Confidence is how you do something. Humility is who you do it for.”
Being humble doesn’t mean you can’t be bold and assertive. Being humble means to not make it all about yourself. It’s serving something or someone or some team or some mission.
When that’s the focus…Don’t hold back. Don’t minimize yourself. Go all out. With confidence.
Trent
My friend who wanted to smack me has written a couple books. They’re good! You can check them out here. Thanks, David! 👍🏼