Humbleness and Confidence
“I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.”
Mahatma Gandhi
The idea is, in the world of creation, a choice between humbleness and confidence does not need to be made. Both can co-exist within an artist’s life simultaneously as a balancing system. A humble confidence helps to keep an artist honest about their abilities, and assured enough to continue to put forth the effort inherent in creating. It also allows a person to be wise enough to know that being humble is what ensures continued growth and it provides a connection to a larger picture than the confines of one’s self. Many elements of social influence can impact the displays of humbleness and confidence, such as gender roles, culture and religious/spiritual group affiliation. There is major differentiation between the philosophies that govern Eastern and Western cultures. Generally speaking, Western cultures value confidence over humility and individuality over group duty. Eastern cultures place the value of humbleness above confidence; this is seen in the embedded hierarchy of respect for elders and tendency to downplay personal achievements, while upholding the goals of a group as a whole. Creation touches upon all cultures and the discussion to follow weaves in elements of the interplay between humbleness and confidence that are utilized within the life of an artist.
“Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes in life.”
George Arliss
Humbleness is thought to be reflective of a willingness to learn, a willingness to listen and a display of quiet compassion. To show humility is to admit to being human in an interconnected circuit of existence that is not simply isolated to one’s own accomplishments, abilities and goals. To admit mistakes, particularly to one’s self is a positive side-effect of humbleness, a sign of humility that can allow an artist to overcome short fallings and continue to improve their craft and ultimately refine their message. Humbleness is not a sign of weakness, self-depreciation or a display of low self-worth; rather, it is truly wisdom in action.
“Humility is to make a right estimate of one’s self”
Charles H. Spurgeon
To feel secure with a knowledge base and to have worked hard to accomplish a level of mastery within a field, is a fundamental task towards the development of confidence. The more confident a person, the more capable of humbleness they can become. Confidence should not be confused with arrogance, ego, or a feeling of superiority. As an artist one of the most monumental moments lays in realizing that there is no need to prove yourself through your work. Confidence is a reflection of belief in one’s abilities and the outcome of the ground work necessary to hone those abilities. To assume a role without sufficient tools, knowledge or skills will only lead to both internal and external conflict. Insecurity breeds contempt. Not being secure with one’s own abilities can lead to artistic or personal jealousies that can hinder a positive path and presentation of creative intent. The sacrifice of ego can open up doors of learning, which ultimately leaves a person's perception open to the calls of inspiration that can motivate future work. A grave mistake for anyone, is to consider themselves beyond the scope of continued growth, this can result in the complete dismantling of an artist’s potential.
“He who is humble is confident and wise. He who brags is insecure and lacking.”
Lisa Edmondson
Another potential danger in the life of an artist is the maladaptive development of pseudo-confidence. To adopt a sense of confidence that is not rooted by an accurate view of one’s self, can disrupt the process of humbling one’s disposition and create a downward spiral of disdain. Using a false sense of confidence as a defense mechanism to cover rooted insecurities can be detrimental to a person’s relationship with others and create a major road block for advancement. This form of confidence is destructive and although it can motivate one to excel with an intent to prove one’s abilities (even is there is a sufficient lack of training or mastery within the specific area), it creates a pathology that will corrode artistic potential. Not to mention this type of mentality can cut a person off from creating a positive community because they will only use other people as devices to help prove their worth. A person who is in this frame of mind will often attempt to secure a leadership position based off of the suppression of their followers in order to feed into their false sense of confidence. Any one that shows talent that exceeds can be looked at as a threat to their image of confidence and thus becomes a target for unhealthy competition or jealousy. This is an extreme circumstance, which is unfortunately seen in every field, but a prime example of what can happen when an air of confidence is attempted without either the actual ability to support it or the humbleness to balance it out.
Confidence serves as a tool to assist communication about an artist’s personal message by offering energy behind the presentation of their work. For example, a performance artist without confidence would surely make less of an impact than one who exuded confidence. Believing that most art is created as a form of communication with the larger realm of humanity lends to a common artistic battle of getting the public to hear a particular message. The projection of true confidence can be a vehicle that drives an artist to succeed in communicating their vision.
In the dynamics of the learning environment, there is somewhat of a hierarchical structure that is unspoken. The teacher assumes a leadership position as the bearer of information and the student the active recipient of information. These roles are further defined depending on cultural and social context. As far as the assignments of roles to student and teacher, I personally do not subscribe to the idea of a hierarchy of superiority and subordination that can be construed in the learning process. The process of facilitating growth is much more of a dynamic process than the adherence to these roles allows. To teach students how to access their humbleness, a teacher must be humble, to cultivate the potential for confidence, the teacher must show confidence in their knowledge and work. Just as respect should be two-way street, so is the display of humbleness and confidence. We are each the students and teachers of our artistic growth, and can adopt each role through our interactions with one another.
When to be humble? When to be confident? My belief is that these are not opposing roles or conflicting concepts, they have the capability of being accomplished within the same moment. Some people have a tendency to think that being faced with unknown knowledge is somehow a blow to their current abilities. This idea couldn’t be further from the truth, and moments where new information is shared should be celebrated, for they offer a person a chance at expanding their own potential. When a person is humble and receptive, this concept is at the root of their artistic path. If a person doesn’t believe in themselves, or if they take on the role of trying to prove themselves by allowing their ego to over talk their abilities, it poses a challenge in convincing others to believe in them or their work. Yet, if a person believes in themselves and can bring forth the combination of confidence and humility, that interplay can be the most powerful sounding board in projecting an artist’s intent. Ultimately, to have the most impact as an artist and to continue treading towards a higher level of work, confidence will need the support of humbleness each step of the way.
“To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.”
Charles de Montesquieu
***Abbreviated version of this article to be published in the Creativity Coaching Association (CCA) March 2009 Newsletter. To access CCA Newsletter archives and to find out more about Creativity Coaching, please visit: http://www.creativitycoachingassociation.com/cca/newsletter/
