The Humble And Helpful Approach Rather Than The Hubris Approach

There are many way to live life. Some people aim to follow the humble and helpful approach rather than the hubris approach. They aim to do their best to help people during their time on the planet.

Such people recognise that humility is a lifelong quest. Like wisdom, as soon as you think you have got it, you haven’t. They therefore do their best to serve something greater than themselves.

Some people follow the hubris approach. They aim to be superior, see themselves as important or inflate their efforts. This can sometime cause difficulties for other people.

Different people follow these approaches in different ways. Let’s explore these themes.  

The Humble And Helpful Approach

People who follow this approach often have a sense of perspective. They see themselves as small in the great sweep of history. They are grateful, generous and want to give to other people.

Such people do not believe they are important. But they do believe that their actions are important because these can affect other people. They therefore want to help people during their time on the planet.

Some people aim to serve something greater than themselves. They may follow a spiritual faith, a moral code or a sense of vocation. They aim to keep following these principles in their life and work.

People who are humble aim to honest. They start by being honest with themselves. They have a moral compass that they believe in following. They aim to follow their beliefs in both positive and challenging situations.

They are honest in their work. They recognise their strengths and, in some cases, their limitations. They then aim to become the best kind of person or professional they can be.

They are honest with people but in a positive way. They aim to encourage people and help them to succeed. When appropriate, they may offer people positive alternatives about how they could behave in the future.

Many people feel humble and alive when applying their gifts. They enjoy the opportunity to use these in their daily lives and work. As the musician Marcus Miller said:

“It’s a great thing about being a musician: you don’t stop until the day you die, you can improve. So it’s a wonderful thing to do.”

Many people love to build on their strengths and do superb work. Sometimes this comes easily, sometimes they need to follow rituals to channel this flow. They love to channel this spirit, however, and get a sense of satisfaction.

Such people may also feel grateful for the gifts they have been given. They echo similar sentiments to those expressed by the author Elizabeth Gilbert in one of her TED talks.

In ancient Greece and ancient Rome people did not happen to believe that creativity came from human beings back then.

People believed that creativity was this divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source for distant and unknowable reasons.

The Greeks famously called these divine attendant spirits of creativity ‘Daemons’. Socrates famously believed that he had a Daemon who spoke to him from afar.

The Romans had the same idea but they called that sort of disembodied spirit a ‘Genius’ … which was great because the Romans did not actually think that a genius was a particularly clever individual.

They believed that a genius was this sort of magical divine entity who was believed to literally live in the walls of an artist’s studio … and who would come out and invisibly assist the artist with their work and who would shape the outcome of that work.

Maybe artistry doesn’t have to be quite so full of anguish if you never happened to believe, in the first place, that the most extraordinary aspects of your being came from you.

But maybe if you just believed that they were on loan to you from some unimaginable source for some exquisite portion of your life to be passed along when you’re finished. (This) starts to change everything.

People who are humble believe it is important to respect others but they also have strong beliefs. They are prepared to take a stand if they see certain principles being compromised.

As mentioned earlier, such people appreciate life and have a sense of perspective. They focus on what they can control and aim to do their best in life. They may also subscribe to the following view.

Life Is Something Beautiful

Before you were born, you were part of the universe.
After you die, you will be part of the universe.
Life is something beautiful, that happens in-between.

Such people are also humble in their search for knowledge. They are often life-long learners who love to explore and add to their repertoires for doing fine work. They maintain this quality throughout their lives.

The Hubris Approach

People who follow the hubris approach see themselves as important. Believing they are superior to others, they may seek status and the power to control other people.

Such people may demonstrate excessive pride and arrogance. They may behave in ways that cause collateral damage and hurt others. They may also aim to make sure that they win and that other people lose.

Let’s return to the humble approach. Some people believe in the idea that: You are most yourself when you forget yourself. Sometimes this can lead to them going into a state of flow.

Anthony Sher, the actor, described how he followed elements of this approach. He was doing a one-man show called Promo based on Primo Levi’s book about Auschwitz.

Before the performance Anthony was concerned about his own contribution and how it may be received. Bearing in mind the profoundness of the book, however, he saw his own feelings in perspective. He explained this in the following way.

Looking ahead, how do you think you can demonstrate humility? How can you try to avoid hubris? Here are some themes that individuals explore when answering these questions.

Humility. The things I can do to
try to demonstrate humility are:

To be kind … To be grateful for life each day … To serve something greater than myself … To use my strengths to help other people … To maintain a sense of humour and not take myself seriously – even though the work I do may be serious.

Hubris. The things I can do
to try to avoid hubris are:

To not take credit for the things I do … To learn from my mistakes … To credit other people for the work they do … To recognise that I am small in the great scheme of things … To balance the paradox of accepting myself but also keep improving.

As mentioned before, however, once you think you are humble you may not be. It may then be time to simply focus on doing something practical to help people or the planet.

Imagine that you want to follow elements this approach. How can you do this in your own way. If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.