Mantra

In the morning recite and meditate on…. The mantra for humility -- "Occupy a rightful space, neither too much nor too little."
Write this phrase on an index card or sticky note and place it by your bedside, on the bathroom mirror, or somewhere else where you will see it at the start of your day. Think about humility and the phrase occupy a rightful space, neither too much nor too little to frame your day. You may even want to create a little chant that you can say for a minute or two to reinforce the message in the depths of your being.

Observe

Where do you sit along the humility continuum? Are you too self-centered or too selfless? Here are some questions to help you decide.

  • Do you feel stressed because you fear that you have spoken out of turn?
  • Are you one of these people who leaves a meeting thinking, "I wish I would have said such and such. That person just walked all over me."
  • Do you ever think, "They can’t do this without me" or "how could they do this to me"?

The answers are clues to where you sit along the spectrum. As you go through the day, pay attention to the times when your humility is in play. Look for the choice points and the decisions that you make without thinking.
For example:

  • Where do you sit or stand, in the front or the back?
  • Do you feel superior or inferior to those around you?
  • By your thoughts and actions, how often do you make it about you? For example, do you always jump in with your own example when someone is sharing a story?
  • Do you rehearse past situations in your head, wishing you’d said something instead of staying silent? Sometimes, of course, it should be about us, but we step back when we need to step up.
  • What do your clothes say about your humility?

Record your observations from the day each night in your journal. Your entry doesn’t need to be long, and you do not need to write complete sentences; just a word or a phrase is fine. The journal is just for you; no one else will see it.

Journaling is an important step in the practice. By writing, we elevate our awareness and connect our conscious activity with the urges from the unconscious mind. And, most importantly, journaling leaves a trace on the soul.

Greg Marcus in The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions