Success vs. Joy
- XVI -
Humility
The third essential aspect of pure action is humility. It is not as if individual effort is unimportant. What is equally, if not more important is to possess a spirit of humility to realize that you are not the only one responsible for your accomplishments.
A billiards player, for instance, should acknowledge the contribution of the person who has spent considerable time manufacturing his cue, the table on which he is playing, the balls he is hitting and so on. Then there is the input of his coach. One must also recognize the contribution of parents, spouse, children, and friends who have, often silently, spared no effort in giving the love, the attention, and the sustenance that built the foundation. One can easily ignore these contributions, take them for granted, and start believing that excellence is entirely the product of one’s own effort.
Humility comes from the appreciation that there may have been a million circumstances that arranged themselves for your benefit and enabled you to fulfill your potential. True legends realize this, and therefore play down their achievements. For them humility is second nature. They learn to respect and accept the fact that forces outside their own selves have, in a major way, been responsible for their accomplishments.