Life is filled with so many fine lines. There is a fine line between ambition and greed, just as there is a fine line between brilliance and insanity. In like manner, it’s very easy to cross that fine line between celebrating your own successes and simply getting on the nerves of the people around you. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with tooting your own horn, so to speak, but it does represent a very delicate balance.
Humble to a Fault
You’ve likely come across many a humble individual who is too afraid to celebrate his or her successes. This person manages to achieve many great things, but chooses to downplay many of these. Perhaps he or she doesn’t want the attention and would rather blend into the background. The trouble with taking this approach is exactly that: you can blend into the background and it becomes increasingly challenging to achieve any kind of monumental success.
Hey! Look at Me! I’m Great!
The flip side of this is no better. Here you find the person that is more than happy to tell you about every great thing that he has ever done, even if it’s not that great. He’ll get all boastful about this accomplishment and that accomplishment, sometimes at the expense of other individuals who may have been vying for the same achievements. Individuals like this typically do not do well in a team environment and their overconfidence can lead to monumental downfalls. That’s not good either.
You have every right to celebrate your successes. If you worked hard at something and it is finally bearing fruit, don’t be afraid to express your joy. At the same time, you might want to exercise some caution that you are not hurting those around you by doing so. This is true in vocational exploits, to be sure, but you also see it in other arenas as well.
Take sports. No one wants to see a sore loser, but they don’t want to see a sore winner either. The players we respect the most are those who achieve greatness, but still express some humility. They still acknowledge the successes of others and respect their competitors.
Just Another Delicate Balance
It is in our very nature to compare ourselves to others and, as a result, you automatically place yourself either above, below, or at par with your contemporaries. When you do poorly, work hard to improve. When you do well, toot your horn, but don’t let all that horn-blowing get to your head.
I’m not too good at the delicate balance. I either don’t say anything or I say too much. No middle ground…. 🙁
I’m not one to toot my own horn. I am a firm believer of “Actions speak louder than words”.