During the last few days, I’ve had the chance to observe young leaders going through an election process. Especially in one case, I’ve regularly asked myself how he included humbleness in his manners. Whenever the reactions he was receiving seemed to celebrate or appreciate him, he sought ways to avoid such possibility.

Whatever was happening he moved the conversation to something that others had done or needed to do. It seemed as if he was trying to protect himself from creating an impression of being selfish, seeking appreciation, or elevating himself.

It was an effort to be humble.

However, his interpretation of being humble rarely resonated with his friends. They found themselves trying to help him accept and see the appreciation he was being given.

For him, it seemed that being humble meant to reject any possibility of being important to others or the process. Whatever the reasoning for his reaction, it was based on a misinterpretation of what being humble relates to.

Being humble is the ability to situate oneself within the larger context of what has been achieved, how one contributes to a group, and how one’s impact resonated with others and oneself. It involves recognizing everyone’s contributions, including one’s own. It’s not about any contribution being more important than another. It is the ability to see the beauty of everything coming together and happening. It certainly isn’t about denying one’s achievement. It is the ability to let go of comparing one’s doing with other people’s doing. It is the ability to appreciate how much chance contributed to the result and how much one hadn’t known at the beginning.

Being humble also is the choice to acknowledge the love, gratefulness, and joy others want to share without taking it for granted or seeing oneself shine more than before.

Learning to be humble without denying oneself is a process tightly linked to gratitude.