Memoirs of an Amnesiac

"It's hard to be humble if you are as great as I am," so says Garfield that lasagna-obsessed feline.

Let's admit it. It's really hard to be humble when we are beset with even the smallest feat. We either call our friends, if need be broadcast through a megaphone our much-cherished successes, may it be making a girl say "yes" to one's proposal to a relationship, earning a degree, passing the board or bar examinations to scoring high in Tetris. We love being proud of ourselves and what we have accomplished, especially when we really gave our best, shed blood, tears and sweat in the process of acquiring our labor of love.

But like everything, there should be a limit. Anything in excess is not good.

While we are so filled with ourselves, we must not forget where we were and the people we worked with leading to our successes. They could be people we love and hold dear that we have neglected or have shamed because we want to lift ourselves up.

I greatly admire self-made people who remain grounded despite the major successes they have in life. If the speaker I listened to recently were correct, then I would render my highest admiration to Lucio Tan whom he says still uses the yellow pad to write down his notes and agenda for the day (despite the advances in technology right now) or he is probably just stingy.

The most successful men are usually the ones who are silent about their successes. They probably think that what they have acquired need not be blown with trumpets but they let their achievements speak for the kind of success they have.

We need more of those people these days. People who know just how to keep their pride in the right perspective. People who recognize other people for their achievements, rather than put down people at the expense of their pride.

We seriously need to stay grounded, no matter how successful we may become.

Unless we're cats.