The Weight of Humility




 They ask us,            

"Why didn't you

Take credit

For the very actions,

The very work

You did?"


But you aren't really taught

How to receive Compliments,

How to establish a Place

Though you built it all by yourself.


The little heart

Feels shy,

Feels hesitant

To show the world

That it has done something.


They say

You shouldn't steal someone else's spotlight,

But you went one step deeper:

You didn't even try to assert yourself

In the very place

Where you deserve it the most.


Does it come out of kind-heartedness?

Shyness?

Modesty?

Unfamiliarity with receiving?

Hmmm...

Everything!


But to delve

Into our inner selves,

Don't our hearts ever

Crave recognition?

Wish to be seen?

To ever witness

Your name being called out,

A room filled with loud applause,

Faces lit up

With a sense of quiet wonder and reverence?

Your people

Spreading your achievements

Faster than lightning.


Still, we believed

Taking recognition 

For your hard work

Isn't right.


Maybe it's the

Result of conditioning.

They used to say,

"Don't show off.

Let actions speak louder than words."

So when we get praise,

The subconscious wakes up from sleep,

Signaling to you

That highlighting your work is Rude

Hitting the panic button

And making you feel guilty.


It's like

You are badly hurt by someone,

But you feel sad for them

Rather than consoling your

Deeply wounded self.

Like a Vikraman hero,

'Unnai Ninaithu' Surya

Redeeming your property,

Being a worker in the same place

For twenty years,

Where he should have been the owner.

But, Being perseverant,

Working hard,

Toiling day and night,

He regained

His very purpose of life...

But then, he sells it again

In a moment

For the girl whom he loved once sincerely.

For the girl who left him for someone

Who had greater wealth than him.

For the girl who didn't see

Who he was,

But what he had.

Finding identity through

Sacrifice

And dismissing one's own self.

Because you believe

You are only 'Pure', 'Noble'

when you are empty-handed

when you don't want to value

Your hard work.

Being a good human being?

This level of selflessness is contagious.


Or else,

It's ignoring the acknowledgment—

A Modesty Bias,

Downplaying your achievements,

Attributing success to 

External factors.


Or is it

Shared effort discomfort?

A fear of being seen as "selfish"?

Forcing you to

Put down the crown yourself,

Which was already comfortably seated

On your head.


But at least now,

You've realized,

Hit by reality.

Today's world

Wishes to see your world.

It needs proof,

Needs PR,

Needs visibility.

Most use this

To set up a fake narrative

With their polished,

Presentable selves.

But people who

Are already blessed with

Great qualities—

As human beings,

As great workers—

Hesitate

To exhibit What they possess.

So own your Effort.

Reframe

"taking credit" as "being accurate."

You aren't a thief

Who steals it from others;

You are a hard worker

Who deserves to be recognized.

Just remind yourself:

You deserve to be called out.

You are the Controller of your life.

The one who takes accountability when it falls apart

Must take appreciation as well when it goes right.

Humility is not becoming invisible.

Humility is knowing your worth

Without needing to become smaller.









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