Fake Humility

I well remember a performance evaluation session with my company commander in the Philippines in 1972. It was the only truly critical comment I ever received in 26 years of service (we received a performance evaluation and counseling session every 6 months). Major McGraw said to 1st Lieutenant Benson, “Jim, if you ever learn humility you will go far in the Corps. I don’t know if I ever learned humility or not, and I don’t know what equates to going far, but I know that humility is important, and I appreciate it in others. I also know that fake humility is nauseating.