Despite the opinion of thousands of meatheads, humility is possibly the most admirable trait to have. Modest people have the most luck, namely for the following reasons: it’s generally something a person is born with (or taught at a young age), they tend not to be let down as often (the world doesn’t owe them anything) and others around them just want to be helpful and encouraging toward them — from giving them a discount on coffee to giving them the benefit of the doubt after missing a deadline.

I know I’m jealous of those who sincerely accept their mistakes and promise to fix them in the future, without justifications. And though humility and modesty do not mean the exact same thing, I group them together to describe — among many things — accepting and self-less (but not self-deprecating) characteristics.

It would also be nice if it were easier to not blame others for any perceived misfortunes. If only we were all a bit more like Conan O’Brien. Seriously, his message at the end of his last Tonight Show spot was truly heartfelt and striking (even if it immediately lead to a clusterf*cked example of Will Ferrell bellowing for attention as loud as possible).

As Conan says (and proves), being a nice person gets you places. There’s a misconception that being the biggest pain in the butt has the power to make people bend to your will. Maybe five percent of the time, some jerk will get his way simply through the “virtue” of being too much of a scumbag to stand dealing with any more. And it’s true that, in the workplace, the worst candidate for a job somehow seems to always get the promotion — and, again, it’s for the reason that no one wants to deal with him or her and the easiest solution is to give in. But it never really matters what the non-humble person gets, he always feels he deserves more. Being humble and modest tends to equate to being content with one’s lot in life, while not restricting future advancements. That is the biggest bonus to having humility.

Remember, above all else, you never want to be that guy who says, “I’m humble,” followed quickly by a friend saying, “Yeah, in your humble opinion.” [Actual quotes courtesy my dad and his wife].

So, I guess my point is, I should probably change my name in my boyfriend’s phone from the self-created “Gean is modest AND amazing” to something a bit more… humble.