There is a scene in The Princess Bride where Vizzini keeps remarking that the Dread Pirate Roberts’s deeds are inconceivable. “Inconceivable!” he shouts. Finally, Inigo Montoya makes a rather obvious reply. “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Exactly.
There is another word people use, and I don’t think it means what they think it means. Humbled. Humbled means to lower (someone) in dignity or importance, typically one who was previously thought to be superior. To make someone understand they aren’t as important or special as they thought. Synonyms? How about humiliate, debase, shame, demean, belittle, degrade, dishonor, bring down, put down, eat crow, or fall from grace?
Thirty-three-year-old Marcus Freeman was hired by Notre Dame
to become their next football coach. He said it was “humbling” to be chosen. So
he was elevated from defensive coordinator to his first head coaching
job in one of the most elite programs in the country, and it somehow lowered
his dignity and importance. He shamefully had been belittled.
Mario Cristobal was “honored and humbled” to be named the
Miami Hurricanes' next football coach. Yes, it’s quite an honor to come back to
his alma mater to coach, but what was the humbling part? The part where he was
greeted like a politician who just won an election or the part where he’ll now
make eighty million dollars over the next ten years?
Speaking of politicians, our own president, Joe Biden, said
at his acceptance speech after eighty million people voted for him, “I
am humbled by the trust and confidence you have placed in me.” So a man who
formerly lost the presidential election two other times somehow had to eat
crow when he won. Somehow winning showed him he was less important and special
than he thought.
Iconic rapper, Missy Elliot, won four Grammy Awards, sold over thirty million
records in the United States, was named the best-selling female rapper in Nielsen Music
history, and Billboard ranked her number five of the one hundred greatest
music video artists of all time. So when she was awarded her own star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, she said, “I am humbled.” Clearly, after all the
previous recognition, she knew she was good, and the star with her name on it
confirmed she was, right? But she was humiliated to be put down in such a way.
Wait…
Bill Gates was “deeply humbled to receive the medal of
freedom for [his] foundation’s efforts to make the world more equal for everyone.”
I’m sorry, Bill, it was demeaning to you to be told you made the world a better
place (in your humble opinion)?
Dak Prescott was “humbled” to be named to the Pro Bowl. His
exact words were “it’s humbling.” Yes, being told you’re one of the very best
at your profession is quite degrading and dishonoring. Following
up on a four-year, $160 million contract with a Pro Bowl selection must have
left him feeling embarrassed and ashamed.
Poet Daniel Borzutzky won the 2016 National Book Award for his collection The Performance of Becoming Human. His response? “It was never anything I expected to happen, and I’m really humbled by the fact that people read my book so closely and that they’ve cared for it.” So, you, a master of words, found it troubling that you never expected an award, yet you won, finding out how impressive you actually are. I’m sure it was shocking to have to admit your debased opinion of yourself was so wrong. Humbling, in fact. It must have been awful for you.
The great writer, C.S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” I think there’s almost certainly one constant emotional state or condition of any sports hero, music or acting star, best-selling artist, billionaire, or lifelong politician—self-confidence. Probably vanity is a partner of that confidence. So while in the midst of winning, achieving, setting records, making gazillions of dollars, and wading through constant attention, adulation, and success, most probably aren’t particularly humble (I’m sure there are exceptions). What they more likely have is a huge ego, a tremendous drive for success, and at the very least, a scattering of awards and achievements. So when they win something or achieve something else, to say they are humbled is a false demonstration of humility. It’s a relief, an honor, a recognition for a lifetime of hard work, but it’s not a reflection that they aren’t as special or important as they thought. They’re actually being told they are special; they have achieved something important; they did do something superior. They did something inconceivable. Oh, wait, I don’t think that word means what you think it means…in my humble opinion.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Jeff+LaFerney&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_1