We’re told that confidence is the key to winning. But what if the engine for long-term success and the good life is a different, quieter, and vastly misunderstood strength?
Humility is truly life's most underrated virtue; it's misunderstood, underappreciated, and underutilized.Humble people recognize their limitations, seek out opportunities for growth, and attend to others' needs.
-era stock trader whose success was spectacular—until it wasn’t. While many people lost money during the crash of 1929, Livermore shorted the market and made a handsome profit. Sounds impressive, right? The problem is, Livermore couldn’t retain his wealth. His early contrarian bets bred overconfidence, and he later made several risky investments that didn’t turn out so well. Sadly, after encountering financial ruin, he died by Now contrast Livermore with Warren Buffett—widely hailed as one of the world’s greatest investors. Buffett is known for his cautious but canny approach: He accumulates lots of cash, stays on the sideline, and then swoops in with a big move when he smells a good deal. But if you’re a fan of Buffett—and he does have something of a cult following—you’ll know he freely admits his mistakes and his lack of knowledge. Buffett has said he underestimated the growth potential of companies like Amazon. He didn’t jump in to buy Amazon stock during the early years of its meteoric rise. In fact, with only a few exceptions, Buffett avoids buying tech stocks—not because he doesn’t believe in them, but because he acknowledges he lacks the expertise to assess their valuation. You probably know this article isn’t about investments or stocks. I offer absolutely no advice whatsoever on what you should invest in. Rather, I think Buffett possesses a critical virtue that Livermore lacked.Humility is truly life’s most underrated virtue. Not because it’s superior to all others but because it’s misunderstood, underappreciated, and underutilized. Many people recognize humility as a virtue—just not one that fuels success. They may imagine humble people as nice and harmless but not particularly ambitious or accomplished.Nor is humility the same as modesty. Modesty is about how we present ourselves to others. Modest people tend not to boast, but privately a modest person may still feel smug or possess an inflated ego.Not all researchers agree, but synthesizing the work of various scholars, here’s where I land: at its core, humility is a lack of self-importance. This de-prioritization of the self enables humble people to view themselves accurately and recognize their limitations, be open to learning and growth, and attend to the needs of others , and end the flight having learned something new and made a connection.shows that humble leaders produce better organizational outcomes, such as better task performance among employees. Humble leaders admit mistakes, prioritize others’ needs, and avoid drawing excessive Because humble people are more willing to seek help and feedback, they learn and grow. Over time, they become more effective. As a professor, I’ve noticed that the students to whom I give the most constructive feedback aren’t necessarily those who struggle—they’re the ones who aren’t defensive and are eager to learn. These students embody humility, and they end up learning the most. When students are defensive, I struggle to give them feedback, and over time, they stagnate.There are two extremes to avoid. The first is assuming our success is entirely due to luck and that we play no role in it. If we believe that, we likely have lowthat foster success. You probably already know this. Many of us have people in our lives encouraging us to believe in ourselves. But the other extreme—far less discussed—is downplaying the role of luck and attributing success entirely to our own effort and abilities. In reality, success is usually a mix of our contributions, the help of others, and a dash of good fortune. I didn’t always understand this, and embracing the role of luck has been one of my most liberating life lessons. Recognizing the role of luck has several benefits. It makes us more grateful. But there’s more. Returning to Livermore and Buffett, I suspect Livermore failed to grasp the role of luck in his early success. By attributing everything to his own uncanny abilities, he took increasingly reckless risks that ultimately ruined him. Conversely, acknowledging luck and the limits of our abilities—that’s humility in action—keeps us from making unnecessarily risky decisions. This is part of Buffett’s enduring success as an investor.If you value humility, pursue it not because it will make you successful—that’s incidental—but because it helps you live a good and meaningful life. The path to humility doesn’t lie in extensive self-analysis —that can morph into another form of self-preoccupation—but in humble practices. Look at the list below and challenge yourself to try at least one this week:If you’re very aware of your strengths but not your weaknesses, ask someone who knows you well for honest feedback. If you typically credit your success solely to your talents, pause to consider how others and luck might play a role.virtues and vices associated with gratitudeDavis, D. E., Worthington, E. L., Hook, J. N., & Hill, P. C. . Humility: Review of measurement strategies and conceptualization as personality judgment.Wright, J. C., Nadelhoffer, T., Perini, T., Langville, A., Echols, M., & Venezia, K. . The psychological significance of humility.Find a TherapistSelf Tests are all about you. Are you outgoing or introverted? Are you a narcissist? Does perfectionism hold you back? Find out the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today.
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