Humility is the act of having a clear perspective of oneself and respecting everyone’s place in the world. When you’re humble, it’s means you do not condescend and believe you’re better than others. That doesn’t mean you’re lowering yourself or your self-esteem. To put it simply and in the words of C.S. Lewis, being humble means you’re not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.
Not many people may think having humility is essential. In actuality, it is. Humility is a necessary trait to see from leaders. A humble leader means he/she values their people and is empathic and compassionate to their people.
But even though you’re not a leader, being humble is something one must practice. Once we’re humble, it becomes easier to be kind to others and to have a more meaningful existence.
Remember the importance of humility as you read through several of the best quotes and sayings about humility and being humble.
1. “Sense shines with a double luster when it is set in humility. An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.” — William Penn
2. “Never be haughty to the humble or humble to the haughty.” — Jefferson Davis
3. “Humility is a virtue, and it is a virtue innate in guests.” — Max Beerbohm
4. “An humble knowledge of thyself is a surer way to God than a deep search after learning.” — Thomas Kempis
5. “I always say be humble but be firm. Humility and openness are the key to success without compromising your beliefs.” — George Hickenlooper
6. “What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.” — Oscar Levant
7. “If I had any humility I would be perfect.” — Ted Turner
8. “Real genius is nothing else but the supernatural virtue of humility in the domain of thought.” — Simone Weil
9. “The first test of a truly great man is his humility. By humility I don’t mean doubt of his powers or hesitation in speaking his opinion, but merely an understanding of the relationship of what he can say and what he can do.” — John Ruskin
10. “Humility is not cowardice. Meekness is not weakness. Humility and meekness are indeed spiritual powers.” — Swami Sivananda
11. “Obedience to the word in humility of mind never confuses.” — John Nelson Darby
12. “Humility, that low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot.” — Thomas Moore
13. “In the intellectual order, the virtue of humility is nothing more nor less than the power of attention.” — Simone Weil
14. “I have to stay humble. I’m just a normal human with a job that is televised.” — Jai Rodriguez
15. “A dose of humility goes a long way in life and in politics.” — Ron Fournier
16. “Knowledge is proud that it knows so much; wisdom is humble that it knows no more.” — William Cowper
17. “The greatest friend of truth is Time, her greatest enemy is Prejudice, and her constant companion is Humility.” — Charles Caleb Colton
18. “Uncertainty is a sign of humility, and humility is just the ability or the willingness to learn.” — Charlie Sheen
19. “It’s continuously humbling to work hard, you know? As long as you’ve got a good work ethic and a sense of humor, I don’t think anybody can become too much of an egoist under those circumstances.” — Rachael Ray
20. “When it comes to true humility in the face of history, nothing beats complete silence.” — Lev Grossman
21. “We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.” — Rabindranath Tagore
22. “Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.” — Robin Morgan
23. “In a way, a certain amount of self-criticism is a good thing, because it keeps you humble. Realizing that no matter what success you’ve achieved, you can still make enemies makes you humble, too.” — Lynn Johnston
24. “Sincerity may be humble but she cannot be servile.” — George Byron
25. “Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.” — Kong Fu Zi
26. “We have to stop and be humble enough to understand that there is something called mystery.” — Paulo Coelho
27. “Life is a long lesson in humility.” — James M. Barrie
28. “Humility is really important because it keeps you fresh and new.” — Steven Tyler
29. “I’m coming from a place of total strength and humility now.” — Robert Downey, Jr.
30. “Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.” — William Cowper
31. “There is no respect for others without humility in one’s self.” — Henri Frederic Amiel
32. “Humility is attentive patience.” — Simone Weil
33. “Let us lose none of their humble words, let us note their slightest gestures, and tell me, tell me that we will think of them together, now and later, when we realise the misery of the times and the magnitude of their sacrifice.” — Georges Duhamel
34. “Humility is truth.” — Desiderius Erasmus
35. “If we learn not humility, we learn nothing.” — John Jewel
36. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” — Rick Warren
37. “I just want to be humble at all times.” — Mike Tyson
38. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.” — Jesus Christ
39. “Humility is a necessary veil to all other graces.” — William Gurnall
40. “The proud man can learn humility, but he will be proud of it.” — Mignon McLaughlin
41. “There is that indescribable freshness and unconsciousness about an illiterate person that humbles and mocks the power of the noblest expressive genius.” — Walt Whitman
42. “The whole course of human history may depend on a change of heart in one solitary and even humble individual – for it is in the solitary mind and soul of the individual that the battle between good and evil is waged and ultimately won or lost.” — M. Scott Peck
43. “When someone saves your life and gives you life, there’s gratitude, humility; there’s a time you’ve been so blessed you realize you’ve been given another chance at life that maybe you did or didn’t deserve.” — Pat Summerall
44. “Religion in its humility restores man to his only dignity, the courage to live by grace.” — George Santayana
45. “Plenty of people wish to become devout, but no one wishes to be humble.” — Joseph Addison
46. “The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.” — Phillips Brooks
47. “Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.” — John Madden
48. “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” — Camille Pissarro
49. “The humblest occupation has in it materials of discipline for the highest heaven.” — Frederick William Robertson
50. “Be modest, humble, simple. Control your anger.” — Abraham Cahan
51. “It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.” — Yogi Berra
52. “I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires.” — Khalil Gibran
53. “The humble and meek are thirsting for blood.” — Joe Orton
54. “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” — Saint Augustine
55. “The humblest individual exerts some influence, either for good or evil, upon others.” — Henry Ward Beecher
56. “Humility is a great quality of leadership which derives respect and not just fear or hatred.” — Yousef Munayyer
57. “In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.” — Galileo Galilei
58. “Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.” — Blaise Pascal
59. “Humility is no substitute for a good personality.” — Fran Lebowitz
60. “A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.” — Robert E. Lee
61. “Let us be a little humble; let us think that the truth may not perhaps be entirely with us.” — Jawaharlal Nehru
62. “One may be humble out of pride.” — Michel de Montaigne
63. “Without humility there can be no humanity.” — John Buchan
64. “There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder.” — Alfred Austin
65. “True humility is contentment.” — Henri Frederic Amiel
66. “Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.” — Mother Teresa
67. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” — Norman Vincent Peale
68. “True love is quiescent, except in the nascent moments of true humility.” — Bryant H. McGill
69. “Affliction is the wholesome soil of virtue, where patience, honor, sweet humility, and calm fortitude, take root and strongly flourish.” — David Mallet
70. “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” — John Wooden
71. “Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of his friends.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
72. “Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire.” — William Penn
73. “Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.” — Jane Austen
74. “There is no disease more conducive to clinical humility than aneurysm of the aorta.” — William Osler
75. “Humble souls are fearful of their own strength.” — William Gurnall
76. “It’s all about humanity, humility, and integrity.” — Debra Wilson
77. “The humble are in danger when those in power disagree.” — Phaedrus
78. “Pride works frequently under a dense mask, and will often assume the garb of humility.” — Adam Clarke
79. “‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” — Alice Walker
80. “True humility is intelligent self respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be.” — Ralph W. Sockman
81. “Vanity is a mark of humility rather than of pride.” — Jonathan Swift
82. “The humblest citizen of all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error.” — William Jennings Bryan
83. “Success is not a good teacher, failure makes you humble.” — Shahrukh Khan
84. “You have to be humble when you’re dealing with God.” — Jill Scott
85. “There is something in humility which strangely exalts the heart.” — Saint Augustine
86. “The humblest is the peer of the most powerful.” — John Marshall Harlan
87. “Humility is a grace that shines in a high condition but cannot, equally, in a low one because a person in the latter is already, perhaps, too much humbled.” — Samuel Richardson
88. “A sarcastic person has a superiority complex that can be cured only by the honesty of humility.” — Lawrence G. Lovasik
89. “Humility is nothing else but a right judgment of ourselves.” — William Law
90. “The more you are in this business, the more humbled by it you become.” — Meryl Streep
91. “Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.” — George Arliss
92. “Sin recognized but that may keep us humble, But oh, it keeps us nasty.” — Margaret Smith
93. “Traits like humility, courage, and empathy are easily overlooked – but it’s immensely important to find them in your closest relationships.” — Laura Linney
94. “A disease and its treatment can be a series of humiliations, a chisel for humility.” — Laurel Lee
95. “In such a state, humility is the virtue of men, and their only defense; to walk humbly with God, never doubting, whatever befall, that His will is good, and that His law is right.” — Paul Elmer More
96. “Humility is the gateway into the grace and the favor of God.” — Harold Warner
97. “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.” — Saint Augustine
98. “There is greatness in the fear of God, contentment in faith of God, and honor in humility.” — Abu Bakr
99. “The unassuming youth seeking instruction with humility gains good fortune.” — Joseph Addison
100. “The feet of the humblest may walk in the field Where the feet of the Holiest trod, This, then, is the marvel to mortals revealed.” — Phillips Brooks
101. “Humility is a grace that shines in a high condition but cannot, equally, in a low one because a person in the latter is already, perhaps, too much humbled.” — Samuel Richardson
102. “It is the grace of God, that shows and condemns the sin that humbles us.” — Adam Clarke
103. “Humility is not my forte, and whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people’s characters.” — Margaret Halsey
104. “He that humbleth himself wishes to be exalted.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
105. “Fairest and best adorned is she whose clothing is humility.” — James Montgomery
