Humility: The Underrated Virtue That Grows Great Men
In the film Gladiator (2000), a dying emperor, Marcus Aurelius, plans to make the great General, Maximus Decimus Meridias, his successor of Rome. However, his power-hungry son, Commodus, finds out about the plans and orders an execution on both Maximus and his family.
After having survived the execution, Maximus winds up in the desert and is bought as a slave in North Africa, where he is forced into fighting as a gladiator. After having built a strong brotherhood and camaraderie with the other gladiators and proving himself worthy and competent in the arena. Maximus eventually finds himself fighting in Rome, winning the hearts of the people and seeking vengeance for the demise of his family.
Maximus is a great example of a virtuous man. In him, we see an important virtue — the virtue of humility. Despite his former life as a powerful general to the Roman Empire, we do not see him boast about his glories, reputation, and success to others.
He does not treat the other slaves as inferiors, but as equals — where he fights alongside them and more importantly, listens to them. We admire the perseverance and strength he carries to rise from an unjust fall — Maximus lets go of his ego in order to find strength in humility.
Today, it is difficult to see humility as a masculine trait. Where other traits such as strength, dominance, and courage are often tossed around — Humility is often left in the shadows.
Humility is important as it helps us to become great men.
What is humility?
Humility is defined as the freedom from pride and arrogance, and the state of being humble. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term originates from the Latin word humilis, meaning low. We have often mistaken the term for having a low-self-esteem — that the act of being humble requires us to act in a passive manner or belittle ourselves and our abilities. This is not the case.
C.S Lewis defines Humility writing:
“A really humble man will not be thinking about humility. He will not be thinking about himself at all”.
Here are three more ways we can think about humility
Humility is a foundation for growth: When we are humbled by someone that we admire or strive to be, we recognize that there is someone greater than us and that we have a long way to go. We recognize that we cannot do it alone.
Humility is self-awareness: We may be confident in ourselves and our abilities. More importantly, we have an awareness of our weaknesses and limitations.
Humility encourages us to continue to seek wisdom from others: Regardless of who they are or where they are from. Humility does not discriminate.
Why Is It Important For Men To Practice Humility?
“Pride goes before Destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
Humility liberates us from pride and arrogance. It is pride and arrogance that stops us from growing. When we are filled with these, we tend to get blindsided by our own weaknesses.
Humility is a vital foundation for growth. The Greek Stoic philosopher, Epictetus, reminds us that:
“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”
Thus, humility plays a significant role in a man’s journey of achieving competence and mastery.
The athlete is a great example of this. Athlete’s practice on a daily basis and learn from a coach or mentor to help them develop their form and skills. An arrogant athlete would say that he does not need help as he has it all. The humble athlete would say that he needs help because he knows there is much to improve.
The aim of competence and mastery is important as it helps us to serve our families and communities. If we are competent drivers, we can safely transport our families from one place to another. If we are competent in our work, we can provide the necessities for our families to survive. If we are competent leaders, we can lead and support our families and communities.
It is important to highlight this point by using Socrates as an example. The oracle had regarded Socrates as the wisest man in Athens in which he responds :
“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”
Here are three ideas that helped me to better understax
Humility is Silent…
Pride and arrogance are often loud and boastful. We see this often represented in movie characters — the adolescent bully that boasts about his achievements to the entire class.
On the other hand, Humility is silent. Joe Sabini best expresses this in his 2018 Ted Talk saying that:
“Humility is unique because when you have humility people don’t notice. That’s the most important part about humility, nobody notices but you.”
And when needed, Humility can also be heard…
As mentioned before, humility is a foundation for growth. Thus, It requires you to acknowledge that you have strengths and limitations and are in need of help — that you can’t embark on this journey alone. Where pride rejects the help, Humility asks for and accepts it.
You are probably not as smart as you think you are…
This was expressed by Dr. Jordan Peterson in one of his talks. Although difficult to do, it is important to open up our minds and listen and learn to what another person is saying — regardless of where they are from and the path they have taken.
As men, we can learn a lot from this underrated virtue…
Humility isn’t that we know nothing, but that there is always something more to learn.
