64 Days ’til 40: Humility:1, Ego:0

Life is a long lesson in humility. ~ James M. Barrie

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. ~ Rick Warren

Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real. ~ Thomas Merton

We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Ego is simply an idea of who you are that you carry around with you. ~ Wayne Dyer

I love playing ego and insecurity combined. ~Jim Carrey

Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it. ~ Colin Powell

Do you ever have those days when you feel like you are eating humble pie?  I find that there are seasons when this happens to me more, and seasons when it happens to me less.  Lately it has happened not due to mistakes I have made, but as I have been challenged by comparing myself to those around me.  Today I read Forbes 30 Under 30 in education and was so impressed.  Here is a list of 30 amazing young people, all a decade younger than me (at least!) and contributing wonderful things to the field of education.  While this is very humbling, this is also a challenge.  What am I doing to significantly contribute to my field?  How can I follow in the footsteps of these bright and amazing individuals who are younger than I?  What can I learn from them and apply in my own life and career?

I find myself asking these questions a lot lately.  Some days it is a bit discouraging, but mostly it is energizing, refreshing and exciting.  I know that in order to continue to impact the field of education, I must continually challenge myself to work to contribute.  I can look past our community, and also contribute to the community at large, exchanging ideas with my network of peers from around the world.  I will not be discouraged when I see younger people in my field achieve greatness, I will look up to them and learn from them and use their success as inspiration and motivation for myself to continue to work to improve education for our children.

Today, 64 days ’til 40, I learn from those younger than I and hope that we can partner together to make a difference.

~400daystil40