“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” – C.S. Lewis
It took everything I had to not smile. Standing before the gathering was a 17 year old who was pontificating to a mixed generational group. Gazing around the room, as he continued with his very confident platitudes, it was clear to me more his posture than message was not being well received. And chuckling on the inside all I could think was there is nothing quite like adolescent arrogance.
Adolescent arrogance is the developmental place where a young person possesses a higher than average level of confidence while at the same time having had a fairly minimal level of experiences. Simply put, the person has a strong grasp of a very small reality – big fish, very small pond.
Everyone who knows me knows I have spent my entire adult life supporting, encouraging and walking with young people. I have also spent decades advocating for allowing greater participation of young people in a wide variety of organizations.
Part of my rationale is that I have seen first hand the importance of the unique perspective that young people can bring to the table. And likewise, I have witnessed the exponential growth that young people gain when they experience a much broader context than their usual reality.
In my experience, particularly working with a wide variety of leaders, having that early opportunity to form and share a perspective in a broader context is developmentally critical. It shapes the person to move away from tunnel vision thinking to learning how to have an appreciation for expansive possibilities. And interestingly, often the other outcome is a strong dose of humility. We do not in fact know everything. There are ideas and perspectives that are better than or improve ours.
Maturity is in fact not chronological, but rather about increasing our capacity for greater awareness, openness, respect and humility.
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2
BP