Title of Tip: Humility is Like Planting Seeds
Name: Ryan Brilmagen
Description: I’ve gone through a lot of shit to get to where I am. I literally have to fight to survive every day of my life. I do not wish to fight with anybody or entertain negative energy. It doesn’t benefit me. I don’t have time to argue because I’m already fighting enough. Humility is when you feel that everything in your body does not want you to do something or when everything is fighting against you doing a certain thing, but you do it anyway. Humility is about fighting negativity and reinforcing something good. Every seed planted grows if you water it. If someone does something negative to you and you water it, it will grow. But if you learn to fight that, you can become what you struggle with the most. Being humble is often looked upon as a weakness. Listening to your elders and not saying anything is seen as being weak.
Instructions: It’s hard to make humility an ingrained characteristic trait. Start by taking small steps forward, doing little things, and being part of a group you’re comfortable with. It starts by doing the opposite of what you want to do. And we don’t necessarily like to do things that don’t feel good. Try to be better every day. Stand up for people and embarrass yourself. The more comfortable you become with that, the more you can block out the bad things. Everything is a life lesson. You’ll be rewarded if you do things in small ways. Faith is the number one thing that will get you through anything. If you’re looking for a better life, you have to fix yourself. If you think the world is messed up, it’s because you have insecurities. If you’re intelligent, you realize whatever you can imagine is real. You can live out your brightest dreams or your worst nightmares. Your mind writes code for your physical reality, so I choose to entertain the good things and believe there’s good in the world. I don’t have time for the negativity that I used to. When you know you have no control over anything, you stop trying to control things. When you stop trying to control, things start flowing. Then, you can receive the gifts you were supposed to receive. You have to detach yourself from everything, including emotional, relationship, and physical attachments, to see life for what it is.
Learning: I was a person who did a lot of things that went against my beliefs. Then, I realized everything I thought I had figured out was wrong. It wasn’t until a higher power started guiding me that I noticed what a real man is supposed to do and how to act. Everything is a life lesson rather than an instantaneous gift of pleasure or a dopamine hit. Putting that into everyday practice is a process. You discover who you are, and your life becomes more beautiful when you detach yourself and try to be the best person you can be. There’s only one God, the only one you need. They are within yourself, and you are the god of your world because you are the only person who has to deal with how you feel or look.
Story: I was in jail, and someone shit in a toilet and clogged it badly. A big guy was going around, screaming in the whole pod that someone better unclog the toilet. I took it upon myself to unclog it to diffuse the situation. Everyone knew that it wasn’t me who did it. Imagine that feeling, not saying anything at all, and just doing it, knowing that God knows exactly why I did it and the reason for it. Doing that over and over again until it’s naturally ingrained—that’s how you learn humility. It’s not easy to unclog the shit other people make.
