Ikigai Thought for Today: Of Foundations and Earth
Why humility is essential for Ikigai
The truly curious drop judgment and explore with humility.
What does it mean to be humble?
Most definitions speak to being meek, lowly in kind, state, condition, or amount.
Instead, I invite you to go deeper.
Humble, in its earliest meaning, was earth.
Solid, grounded, foundational.
Starting from a place of humility is without pretense or ego. It is a place of grounded1 awareness about self and others.
With humility, we can be more open to listening to other perspectives, learning from them, and making changes when necessary.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.
C.S. Lewis
Humility, in this sense, is linked to the essential Ikigai quality of curiosity2.
The truly curious drop judgment and explore with humility.Â
Humility as strength, a firm foundation for learning, growing, and connecting with others.
đ Reflection:
đ± How might looking at being âhumbleâ like this change your approach in life?
đ± How might it help you uncover your Ikigai?
firmly fixed or established
âHumbleâ is a hard word to come to terms with. Its immediate association (for me) is the Mac Davis song âOh lord itâs hard to be humble/ when youâre perfect in every wayâ lol.
Curiosity and humility are a great way to approach it though. Curious about the world and understanding how small one is in the grand expanse of the Earth and universe and yet how significant oneâs actions can be to other people.
From curiosity comes knowledge. With knowledge comes power and the responsibility to act in the service of others.
Maybe, just maybe, all this upheaval, chaos, uncertainty, anxiety, feelings of "can't do it all", and so on and so forth will have an unexpected return. Maybe, just maybe we will reorient our personal compass to True North. IMHO.