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“Humble people are completely unabsorbed with themselves”
– Rabbi Shalom DovBer, the fifth Chabad Rebbe.
Humble people do not view themselves as a topic for discussion and analysis. Not because they feel bad or unworthy, but because the humble are not absorbed in themselves. They keep complete focus on their mission in life, as opposed to analysing their place on the chessboard of life.
Humble people don’t think less of themselves. They think of themselves less!
“Flow”
There is a concept in modern psychology similar to the way we are defining humility. It’s called “Flow.” It refers to the mental state of a person completely immersed in a challenging physical or mental task.
In life we spend so much time thinking about our own self. In flow, there is no room for self-scrutiny. A climber making a difficult assent is 100 percent climber, or he would not survive. Flow is a loss of consciousness of the self. Being able to forget temporarily who we are seems to be very enjoyable”
- Paraphrased from Flow; The psychology of Optimal Experience.
Flow is very similar to our current definition of humility. The ultimate humble person is he who lacks a consciousness of the self, due to his engrossment in his mission in life.
Humility is not an all-or-nothing proposition. The more we are able to decrease self-evaluation, the more humble we are. Just as people can go in and out of flow experiences, similarly, we can go in and out of humility experiences.
Purpose
G-d created man not as a “needy” being but as a “purposeful” being. This is built into our very DNA. When we throw ourselves into things beyond the self we experience flow. And flow is enjoyable.
We live in an era and society in which the self dominates. But man is at his best when focused on what he is needed for as opposed to what he needs. Self-absorption is counterproductive, because happiness lies not in meeting our needs but in achieving our purpose.