Humble: Do people even know what this word means?

[HBox]

I'm convinced that no, they do not. Last night Mariano Rivera recorded his 500th save, only the second MLB pitcher to accomplish such a feat. When asked how he felt after this monumental feat he replied that it was a humbling experience. What?

This happens all the time. Someone accomplishes something indisputably incredible and when asked how they feel the answer is almost always humbling. No, you feel the complete fucking opposite of humbling. You feel humble after you fuck up. You don't feel humble after you've done something only one other human being has ever done. This happens all the time and it bugs me to no end.

If someone asks you how you felt after you shit your pants the correct answer is humbled. If someone asks you how you feel after you've done something no one else has ever done the correct answer is not humbled, the answer is it feels fucking awesome.

And no one ever calls these people out. Just once I'd like to see an interviewer go "How exactly does winning an Oscar/MVP/Championship/whatever make you feel humble? Which of your flaws was put on display?"

This is insanity and it must stop.

[IMSlacker]

Humble is a suburb of Houston. I live there, I know what Humble is.

[strawberrypop]

I assume they don't mean that they feel humble, but that they feel humbled. That they realize the magnitude of what they just accomplished, and recognize that it's far greater than they themselves are or could possibly have ever fathomed doing, and they stand in awe of the accomplishment and feel small by comparison.

It's that they recognize their veritable average-ness in comparison to the amazing thing that they have just done. They're separating themselves from their accomplishments.

So there.

[instrument]

It is a humbling experience, to the rest of the players...humbled before his superior abilities.

He is in fact talking shit to everyone else.

[JPMNICK]

of course I know what it means, I am the fucking best at knowing word definitions.

[disneyspy]

he said it right,you have just been humiliated(thats the word you're thinkin of)

[sailor]

I assume they don't mean that they feel humble, but that they feel humbled. That they realize the magnitude of what they just accomplished, and recognize that it's far greater than they themselves are or could possibly have ever fathomed doing, and they stand in awe of the accomplishment and feel small by comparison.

It's that they recognize their veritable average-ness in comparison to the amazing thing that they have just done. They're separating themselves from their accomplishments.

So there.

completely agree.

[Snoogans]

Hbox has humbled me with this thread

[SatCam]

I know a man who could make Mariano feel humbled


http://www.hungdevils.com/uploads/monthly_12_2008/post-162-1229268448.jpg

[MacVittie]

Maybe he picked more appropriate words for the interviews that he gave in his native language.

[Hottub]

Maybe he picked more appropriate words for the interviews that he gave in his native language.

That was my first thought.

My second was
http://www.gibson.com/Files/AllAccess/cover_features/humble_pie.jpg

[Snoogans]

I was greatly humbled when people voted me on the Mount Rushmore of Ronfez.net

How's that?

[TheGameHHH]

I assume they don't mean that they feel humble, but that they feel humbled. That they realize the magnitude of what they just accomplished, and recognize that it's far greater than they themselves are or could possibly have ever fathomed doing, and they stand in awe of the accomplishment and feel small by comparison.

It's that they recognize their veritable average-ness in comparison to the amazing thing that they have just done. They're separating themselves from their accomplishments.

So there.

I agree and therefore render this thread completely insignificant

[EliSnow]

If I shit my pants, I am humiliated. That is different than humbled.

[HBox]

If I shit my pants, I am humiliated. That is different than humbled.

You are humiliated in addition to being humbled. You thought you had control of your shit. Your shit showed you otherwise and humbled you.

[HBox]

I assume they don't mean that they feel humble, but that they feel humbled. That they realize the magnitude of what they just accomplished, and recognize that it's far greater than they themselves are or could possibly have ever fathomed doing, and they stand in awe of the accomplishment and feel small by comparison.

It's that they recognize their veritable average-ness in comparison to the amazing thing that they have just done. They're separating themselves from their accomplishments.

So there.

This is some new age nonsense. You can't separate yourself from something that you are a part of. The accomplishment does not exist without the person who accomplished it. Otherwise you might as well say "I stand in awe of what I just did, and in addition I stand in awe of recording 1000 saves even though I haven't done it and no one else has, it's just a humbling thing to think of."

This only makes sense to me for one of the steroids monsters. Like if Mark McGwire says 'I stand in awe of how much better steroids made me."

[strawberrypop]

Um, not at all. That's a pretty fundamental part of Christianity and Judaism, probably Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism, too, which, last i checked, aren't exactly New Age philosophies.

Humility is a larger state of being. It's realization of how minuscule one is in relation to God/Creation/the Universe/what have you. It's a constant state of mind and/or spirit.

If a humble person accomplishes a great feat, he or she is likely to feel even more humble in comparison to that thing, realizing that it is such an incredibly rare thing that they were able to do, and recognizing that - while, yes, he or she was the person who DID the thing - it's sort of beyond their essentially frail humanity. or it's just such an amazing thing that it's impossible not to step back and say - wow - that's amazing - I can't believe that I, just some dumb person from where have you, just did that. If it's a person of faith, then he or she will immediately give credit to God, not out of pretentiousness or thinking that God preferred them over someone else, but just out of recognition of their own frail state of being and flawedness, and the unlikelihood that someone like them could do such a thing.

It's actually a completely sane and normal reaction. Yes, there's the momentary pride and holy shit wow thing, but for a person who is not thoroughly egotistical, that is soon replaced by humility at the tremendousness of what just happened to them.

Yes, I just took that in a different direction, but it sort of leads into my argument with the people who say that athletes who thank God are saying that God prefers them to other athletes, when it's not that at all. But I digress.

[HBox]

Um, not at all. That's a pretty fundamental part of Christianity and Judaism, probably Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism, too, which, last i checked, aren't exactly New Age philosophies.

Humility is a larger state of being. It's realization of how minuscule one is in relation to God/Creation/the Universe/what have you. It's a constant state of mind and/or spirit.

If a humble person accomplishes a great feat, he or she is likely to feel even more humble in comparison to that thing, realizing that it is such an incredibly rare thing that they were able to do, and recognizing that - while, yes, he or she was the person who DID the thing - it's sort of beyond their essentially frail humanity. or it's just such an amazing thing that it's impossible not to step back and say - wow - that's amazing - I can't believe that I, just some dumb person from where have you, just did that.

It's actually a completely sane and normal reaction. Yes, there's the momentary pride and holy shit wow thing, but for a person who is not thoroughly egotistical, that is soon replaced by humility at the tremendousness of what just happened to them.

This all sounds to me exactly as nonsensical as that David Lynch clip that Ron and Fez run about Unified Theory and Ahtma or whatever the fuck he was talking about.

There's way too much false humility in our culture. While I don't doubt that some people who achieve greatness actually believe what you are posting even though I don't get it, most of them sound like they are saying something safe, something they are supposed to say. And this false humility is reflected by the line "just some dumb person from where have you." NO! If you did something incredible, something historic, you are not some dumb person from where have you, you are a special person who transcends wherever the fuck you came from.

[strawberrypop]

While that may be how the world views you, that is not necessarily how you view yourself.

You're confusing humility with self-deprecation. You can be entirely humble and say "I'm a fantastic painter. I'm the best painter in the state." If you say it without the intent of being boastful, but matter-of-fact, because it's an accurate statement, you can still be humble. While having a talent or a skill is largely a result of hard work, you still need to have a natural aptitude to excel in such a way. Humility in this case is recognizing that the aptitude isn't something that you created in yourself, but that you were born with. A gift, so to speak.

It is not at all necessarily something that is put on by the people who authentically have it. While in the example you cite - athletes who just did something amazing - it may in fact frequently be just this, that doesn't negate the reality of its authenticity in many great people.

I guess it's one of those things that you have to be in touch with to truly get.

[strawberrypop]

In fact, Socrates is an excellent example. Brilliant, we still talk about him how many eons later, yet he is perhaps most famous for saying "Wisest is he that knows he does not know." He humbly admitted that the more he came to learn, the more he realized he had yet to know. Yet he surely recognized his own wisdom and the breadth of his knowledge in comparison to other people. But he also realized it paled in comparison with all available knowledge.

[Contra]

And this false humility is reflected by the line "just some dumb person from where have you." NO! If you did something incredible, something historic, you are not some dumb person from where have you, you are a special person who transcends wherever the fuck you came from.

I think it's all about perspective. That may be the way YOU feel about that person, but not how that person feels about themselves or the situation.

For the most part I agree with strawpop

[EliSnow]

You are humiliated in addition to being humbled. You thought you had control of your shit. Your shit showed you otherwise and humbled you.

But you can be humble without being humilated.

Being humble is simply being "not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive."

Humilated is feeling lower in your own eyes and/or the eyes of others.

You can be not arrogant or humble in a situation where you do well or have accomplished something, and where you are no being humiliated.

It's easy to be humble when you have shit in your pants. It's much harder to be humble when you arguabley have reason to be arrogant.

So to sum up, you can accomplish something great and still be humbled.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Perhaps he's been humbled because he realizes he can't ever do any better than he just did, which means he's staring death right in the eyes for the rest of his trip on this earth.

[HBox]

In fact, Socrates is an excellent example. Brilliant, we still talk about him how many eons later, yet he is perhaps most famous for saying "Wisest is he that knows he does not know." He humbly admitted that the more he came to learn, the more he realized he had yet to know. Yet he surely recognized his own wisdom and the breadth of his knowledge in comparison to other people. But he also realized it paled in comparison with all available knowledge.

I'm not saying that the brilliant can't be humble. On the contrary I think humility is necessary to become great. What I'm saying that an incredible accomplishment is not humbling.

Perhaps he's been humbled because he realizes he can't ever do any better than he just did, which means he's staring death right in the eyes for the rest of his trip on this earth.

This I like.