Egotism in the Garb of Humility

A quote from Catherine McAuley;

Do not speak either in praise or dispraise of yourself; egotism often assumes the garb of humility.

When I was a child I was taught to not speak of my accomplishments so as to not become proud or vain. I was taught to even deflect any compliments as to my abilities. It was to teach humility.

Unfortunately it also can lead to having poor self-esteem or a sense that I could not do anything well.

Late I learned that humility can take on many forms of disguises and so to be proper about compliments or praise to just say thank you and forget about it.

When I started teaching school, I was taught that we must always find a way to praise the child so that the child would not have poor self-esteem. It became almost phony as I tried to find a way to take wrong answers and try to make it good.

Today I see that there needs to be a moderation of all of this. We need to gently help children to see that they are good and wonderful people and in their good and wonderfulness, they need to reach out to others. We then need to help to see who have little sense of their self-worth and gifts to graciously acknowledge them and be proud of who they are and what they can accomplish knowing that all gifts come from God.
A different focus so that one need not brag about it and still acknowledge it knowing that all comes from God. A true sense of humility...

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