This week I stopped to reflect on the word humility and its true meaning, and I thought about how many times people shrink or negate themselves in its name until I reached a conclusion that I feel urgent to share: the concept is distorted and that confusion is costing deals, commissions and positioning in the sector.
The word comes from the Latin *humilitas*, derived from *humus*, meaning earth, and refers to keeping one's feet on the ground and knowing one's own reality honestly, without inflating one's ego but also without hiding one's talent. True humility never demands making oneself invisible or renouncing one's own worth, and yet I have observed that for fear of appearing arrogant, some real estate agents fall into self-effacement, minimizing their experience, omitting their success stories, or almost apologizing when presenting their fees.
That mistake has direct consequences for the business. A client about to make a high-impact financial decision seeks certainty, and if the professional hesitates about their own value, that doubt immediately spreads, creating a rift that ultimately erodes the trust already built.
Downsizing doesn't generate the sympathy many expect; instead, it conveys insecurity, and insecurity doesn't sell properties, defend fair commissions, or build a solid personal brand in a market where reputation is everything.
It's important to highlight the confusion that sometimes exists between arrogance and conviction: the former seeks to demonstrate superiority, while the latter simply conveys knowledge. When a professional calmly states that they have been structuring these types of transactions for ten years, they are not being arrogant but rather offering the honesty about their experience that an investor needs to hear before making a decision.
True humility coexists with professional confidence without any conflict between the two. One can be empathetic, approachable, and willing to learn, while also being firm in communicating results or defending the value of one's work. One does not diminish the other. There is no virtue in accepting disadvantageous conditions for fear of appearing demanding, nor in remaining silent about achievements for fear of causing discomfort.
It is worth analyzing how much of what is understood as humility is actually fear of rejection, criticism or taking up space, disguised as virtue.
That fear ends up hindering the growth of professionals with extraordinary potential, and that is why it is worth remembering that recognizing one's own value is not the opposite of humility but the condition for exercising it authentically.
Only those who know their own worth can serve others without arrogance and without fear.
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