False humility

As I was commuting to work today, I was pondering the tendency of what I have dubbed "false humility". I'm referring to the want to express your hard work on a certain humbling experiences to others in a way that it almost back-handedly asking for acceptance. It creates a sense of insecurity and insincerity. Who else is guilty of this all the time?

As per normal, I find myself getting stuck on the balance between the extremes. One cannot be too humble, so as to not accept any attention, as that is a form of humbleness that masks a slight arrogance, meaning as you are too good to accept praise or, worse, that masks one's inability to love oneself. Also, one cannot also be too proud as to believe they should never be broken in a humbling experience.

Humbleness, but definition is not proud or even can be said to be actions offered in submission style (read servitude in Christian-ese). Of course, approaching any task with this mind set is not easy, and I believe, in fact, that it takes a very special person to come across as truly humble. More often than not, we want to seem like we're coming from the right place, saying that we're willing to serve others modestly. Yes, intentions of that nature are fantastic, and should be practiced, but how often to we hide that need for acceptance and validation in our hearts are we embark on our day to day tasks? Are we all falling into the trap of "false humility?"

I know myself, there are times that I do certain actions that appear to be serving on the outside, but on the inside I might be thinking "If I just do this, then I will seem like this..." Knowing that I have this tendency is of course the first step, but it's hard. I want so much to just "be" and not to worry about the debilitating constraints of this world, or even self-imposed constraints.

Maybe it just comes down to a question - "What is my motivation?"

Think about it. I know I will.