Neutral humility
It bothers me how much we avoid this tbh
I have a lot of feelings about modesty and humility, and not because *I* feel a way about them, but because of the way we tend to treat them. On one hand, we have the arrogant dolts among us who are self-fascinated and a lot. On the other hand, we have the self-negating (real and performative) way of being, too, which is problematic and frankly, not cute at all. And both ways of being are an abuse of the virtues of modesty and humility, for sure; both are an extreme.
What is discussed less often is that which is neither of those things and lies right in the middle: genuine and neutral humility that not arrogant, not self-negating, that is straightforward about the actual facts of your accomplishments and boundaries and needs. The middle isn’t grasping or pushing in either direction; it’s just there.
Today, I invite you to write in the under-explored middle area around this idea, where things are discerning and neutral, where we are centered and not trying to be liked or not, where it’s okay to admit being wrong and where it’s also okay to state the truth of our accomplishments with neither downplaying nor boosting.
It’s a little abstract, but give it a try and see where you land. Let me know what happens; I’m obsessed with this topic.
