Humble people: 5 characteristics that define them

A review of the typical personality characteristics of humble people, in order to recognize them.

Humility is one of the personal characteristics that have been most valued and praised historically. However, in practice, humble people are not the most prevalent in our society.

In this article we will see what are the typical characteristics of humble people that help us to recognize them through that help us to recognize them through their actions and attitudes.

What are humble people like?

Virtually every nation has stories that tell of humble, hard-working people who strive to improve some aspect of society, even if they exaggerate to do so. In any case, it is clear that this is a value that is often promoted in an attempt to get everyone to buy into it.

However, humble people are not the norm, but the exception; most people do not Excel in this characteristic, just as most people are not characterized by being the opposite, narcissistic and conceited.

The fact of opting for humility brings positive advantages for society, but for the person who practices this habit is not always a behavioral dynamic that brings personal benefits; it depends very much on the context.This depends very much on the context.

Partly because of this, and because in a culture dominated by individualism and the logic of personal marketing it sells more to communicate than to do something worth communicating, humble people are not the most common, although they are not an absolute rarity. Let's see which are the personality characteristics that help us to recognize them.

1. They place value on hard work

Humble people are aware that most situations in life, unless they are part of a privileged minority, require hard work in order to live with dignity and help others to do the same.

That is why, they appreciate the value of effort and hard work, and they certainly don't make fun of it.They certainly do not make fun of those who decide to sacrifice various aspects of their daily lives in order to promote ambitious and difficult projects (a complicated university career, a highly specialized professional career in which many people compete, etc.).

2. They do not find pleasure in surpassing others.

A humble person does not have to completely reject situations in which he or she participates in a competitive dynamic, such as, for example, in a competitive examination or in a project competition to receive a grant.

However, neither does he or she take pleasure in the experience of surpassing a person or a group in something, since their self-esteem does not depend on obsessive comparisons with others..

In other words, they do not get emotionally involved in the competition itself, but in the development of the quality product that can consequently help them stand out in a competition. If anything, they find motivation in surpassing themselves, going beyond what they thought they could not do.

3. They can better tolerate the lack of attention

Humble people can be both introverted and extraverted (i.e., more or less inclined toward introspection on the one hand, or toward seeking external stimuli on the other), but in either case they resent less the experience of not receiving much attention from others.

This is relative, since everyone needs to be recognized by his or her peers, but since this type of person does not feel the need to be recognized by others. this type of person does not feel the need to constantly receive validation from others, there is a certain loneliness in this regard.In this aspect, a certain loneliness does not cause them so much discomfort.

4. They yield less to prejudice

It is practically impossible not to have never fallen into a prejudice, but humble people have it easier because spontaneously they rarely find reasons to give in to negative evaluations. they rarely find reasons to negatively evaluate other people without having a concrete and rational reason for it..

For example, a humble person is less likely to make negative assessments about the fact that another individual has little money, since classism is unjustified.

5. They give relative importance to their virtues

Humble people do not have inflated self-esteem, among other things because although their ability to make an effort at something may make them stand out, for them it does not define their overall value as human beings.

Where others would believe they are above the rest because they are elite athletes or recognized authorities in some academic field, humble people simply see what is there: an ability they are good at, combined with external factors they cannot entirely control: luck, the help of others, and so on. However, this should not be confused with low self-esteem.The tendency to assume that everything bad is one's own responsibility and everything good comes from luck.

Bibliographical references:

• Hermangómez, L. & Fernández, C. (2012). Personality and Differential Psychology. Manual CEDE de Preparación PIR, 07. CEDE: Madrid.
• Kail, R.; Barnfield, A. (2014). Children and Their Development. Pearson.
• Kawamoto, T. (2016). Personality Change from Life Experiences: Moderation Effect of Attachment Security. Japanese Psychological Research, 58(2), pp. 218-231.
• Rokeach, M. (1973). The Nature of Human Values. New York: The Free Press.