Image description: A women with her hands clasped, her eyes closed.

While 2021 offers distant signs of hope and healing, the reality is we’re still in the thick of a challenging time.

In navigating these waters, Be Humble Day came upon our desks with a bit of skepticism at first. But perhaps no other saying seems more applicable than to “be humble”, for whatever you’re going through right now.

What does it mean to Be Humble?

Being humble means to drop all notions of boasting, competition and pride. Being humble means to give yourself permission to forgive your mistakes, lapses in judgment, and uncharacteristic behaviour. As we all continue to get through the pandemic in our own way, to be humble means to find humility in the way things are working in your household.

In practice, that means not berating yourself because your kids are watching more TV than usual or your house is messier than it typically is. Many of us are just trying to get from one moment to the next, and offering ourselves time to be humble in our circumstances can be the difference between getting by and crumbling.

How can you be humble during 2021 (and beyond) to make these hard times feel a bit less challenging?

Here are five ways we invite you to explore:

Let yourself rest

There is a common misconception that because you’re spending more time in your home, you should be doing more around the house like tackling home improvement projects, starting a home workout routine, or even starting a work-from-home side hustle.

Depending on your circumstances and how the past year has affected you personally, it’s important to recognize that you may need even more relaxation and downtime than before the pandemic hit.

Just because many of us have different schedules and are working from home doesn’t mean that we’re working any less—we’re just working differently and some of us are even having to work more.

If you’re feeling tired and overworked, give yourself permission to rest. Skip the webinar, take a nap, do something relaxing that you enjoy, or ask a partner, friend, neighbor or other trusted person within your bubble for help while you take time to decompress. Taking care of your physical and emotional well-being is just as important as taking care of others, as you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Practice forgiveness and self-compassion

As we live through this season in our lives, not quite knowing how long it will last, practice offering yourself forgiveness and compassion when (not if!) things don’t get done as planned, you lose your patience with your kids, or you need to take some extra time to rest.

We’re all walking this path for the first time and there certainly isn’t a rule book for navigating a pandemic with children and a full-time job, and all the maintenance and care that comes with it. If you don’t get everything done you hoped to or plop your children in front of the TV for a few hours so you can get some work done, forgive yourself and give yourself permission to let it go.

Practice acceptance of difficult emotions

Often, we are consciously or unconsciously taught to favour “positive” emotions like joy, happiness, and love and push away “negative” emotions like frustration, anger, and sadness.

The reality is, emotions exist on a spectrum and fully experiencing them is a natural and healthy part of being human. The next time you experience an uncomfortable or difficult emotion, practice feeling it, experiencing it fully, and then letting it pass by, similar to watching leaves float down a river, or clouds drifting across the sky.

Reduce social media consumption

Plain and simple, social media is not reality. It’s a well-known fact that people tend to post their highlights and keep their hardships private.

Seeing an endless stream of supposed “super parents” who seem to be juggling it all with ease can make you feel inferior. The thing is, you’re not seeing the other 99 percent of these people’s lives which undoubtedly contain a fair amount of struggles, just like everyone else.

By reducing your social media consumption, you can focus solely on yourself and your family without constantly feeling the need to live up to unrealistic expectations.

Set boundaries

Don’t be afraid to say “no”—it’s a simple, under-utilized word that can have a big impact on your well-being. Recognizing that we cannot do and be all things is crucial, especially during these difficult times.

Saying “no” to something that you don’t have the energy or time for gives you space and time to prioritize the people (including yourself) and work that requires our energy the most.

The bottom line

Giving yourself time to feel humble, to look upon yourself with empathy and compassion, can create a ripple effect that not only positively affects your life, but the lives of those around you as well.

It’s time to release the self-imposed guilt and shame. How good of a parent, friend, and spouse you are should not be judged during a pandemic (or anytime, really). As long as you and your family have food, shelter, laughter, and love, the rest will be forgiven.

We hope you enjoyed reading this and take the time to be humble and happy, in this moment and the next.

WOOSH!