“Vanity working on a weak mind produces every sort of mischief.” (Jane Austen)
Strong people don’t need to proclaim their strength. They just are. Confident people don’t need to broadcast their confidence. They just are. Beautiful people don’t need affirmation to be beautiful. They just are.
Certainly, there are those with a false sense of humility. More than I really care to consider. But have you ever met a truly successful person? Whether he or she were a business owner, an author, or even a politician? How did they introduce themselves to you? Was the measure of their success among the first few things they told you about themselves? I doubt it. Most successful people got there by a healthy measure of confidence mixed with humility. They don’t need to tell you they are important, they just are.
I began learning this lesson when I was in high school. I knew that the genuinely confident girls didn’t wear the shortest skirts or the most makeup. They were friendly to all circles and weren’t overly focused on the latest trends. They just were.
Well not much has changed. The men driving red Corvettes are still eager for the world to see their success. Just as the women posting endless gym selfies are eager for the world to affirm their worth. (Or vice versa.) This is an oversimplification and a stereotype, of course. I’m not judging, it’s your life. We are each accountable for our own selves. I applaude those who dance to their own tunes. I certainly do!
But as for me, I just want to be. Always a work in progress. Never perfect. Striving for progress. Present, happy, content, discreet, and sure of my worth. If ever I possess any form of success, I want it to be evident by my presence, not my words.
Remembering that in trying to proclaim my strength, I expose my weakness. In broadcasting my confidence, I betray my insecurities. And true beauty is found in the heart and mind.
Though again a level of humility is needed. Who among us is devoid of any weakness? Or insecurity? We are all a measure of light and darkness. We just are.
“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” (J.K. Rowling)
