Joe tells the story of accepting a student into his first course despite three participants threatening to leave, his kids warning against it, and his own system resisting. But the calling was undeniable — and the student turned out to be exactly who the course needed. Humility means following that call even when you don’t want to, because every time you don’t, it hurts.
This extends directly to self-promotion. If you’re called to share your work, doing so is the humble act — even though it makes you uncomfortable. The discomfort exists precisely because the action scrapes against your identity (“I’m not the kind of person who self-promotes”). Each uncomfortable act sands away at the ego.
But there’s wisdom in the discomfort too. Self-promotion can be dangerous to your unfolding. The humble approach is to follow the call while paying attention to the risk of getting caught up in it, and staying undefended when people attack you for it.
“To take up your full space requires you to follow the calling. You can’t take up your full space and be doing it for yourself. You’re doing it for something beyond you — and so that is the humility.”
Related Concepts
- Edge of comfort is where growth happens
- Shame blocks self-promotion
- Humility is not taking life personally
- Humility can require self-care
- Humility is not making yourself small
- False humility is a defense against being seen