The One Thing You Shouldn’t Leave the House Without

With frenzied appointments and the never-ending social media craze, it’s easy for arrogance to sometimes seep into our lifestyle without fair warning.

As women ready to conquer the world, it’s important we keep up with our goals and to-do lists. But when those same goals cause us to focus too much on ourselves, we can miss out on the opportunity to genuinely connect with people.

Humility gives us the opportunity to have a sincere heart while also empathizing with others. When we wake up, the attitude we choose to put on can have a greater impact on the success of our day than our outward appearance. In the flurry of leaving in the morning, we often rush around the house on last minute purse hunts and car key quests, easily distracted from a well-needed attitude check.

While also grabbing the to-go essentials, here are a few reasons why you should never leave the house without a little humility:

Humility reminds us where we came from.

We would not be where we are today if it had not been for the shoulders of another person — be it our mothers, our fathers, our mentors or our best friends. Every artist, creative and professional had to pay a price for being where they are today.

When I sit in my comfortable office chair at my corporate office job, I look back to the days I scrubbed toilets and juggled nights of waitressing just to make an income. At some point in our lives, we encountered our small beginning — some with more blood, sweat and tears than others. It built us into the people we are. Because of our experiences, humility makes room for us to show compassion and empathy towards others. Empathy transcends professional titles and bridges spaces between strangers.

At some point in our lives, we encountered our small beginning — some with more blood, sweat and tears than others. It built us into the people we are.

Humility makes us people-oriented.

Life has to be about so much more than ourselves. Everyone around us has something to bring to the table, and we shouldn’t let this fact scare us out of experiencing community in fullness. Our differences, whether in shape, size or color, curate a breath-taking, collaborative effort that our world is in desperate need of.

In Austin Kleon’s book, “Steal Like an Artist,” he shares, “If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.” What would happen in the world if we decided to be inspired by each other instead of intimidated by one another? Someone else’s accomplishments or qualities do not diminish who we are. If we desire certain abilities that we observe in others, we should simply strive to learn alongside them.

Humility conquers our insecurities.

When we reflect on our pride, many times, it traces back to a root of complex insecurity. Somewhere along the road, someone expressed we weren’t attractive enough, capable enough or clever enough to move ahead in life. These fears begin to cloud our interactions with people on a daily basis because we begin feeling inadequate, unqualified and unfit.

Comparison invades our minds to make us feel like we have to measure up to the successes of our neighbor. But rather, when we choose humility, we exchange our daunting insecurities with a good substance — one that values humans as assets and not as commodities. Humility helps us to see past our lack to positively gain from the good in others. Placing value on others outside of ourselves enhances our quality of life and limits our susceptibility to insecure motives.

Although cellphones and lipsticks beckon our attention on the way out, let’s be sure to prepare our hearts to be kindhearted and to intentionally help others along the way.

Do you agree? What are you sure to never leave the house without?

Images via Emily Bezinger