There is a huge difference between self-esteem and pride. Self-esteem lets you know (in your mind at least) if you're good at something or if you've done something worthy. Pride is letting other people know you're good at something or you've done something worthy. A little self-promotion is certainly something we all do. There is nothing wrong with letting people know about our talents and accomplishments, but how can we promote without letting our egos get out of control? Try adding some humility.

Humility makes your ego palatable to other people. Since we all have one, you might as well make yours as digestible to others as possible. People like humble people, people want to be friends with humble people. People like to do business with humble people. Nobody likes to write a check to an arrogant self-important jerk. I sure don't. So how can we use negative thinking to be a little more humble?

You're not perfect! Knowing this can be earth shattering for some and liberating for others. We make mistakes and bad choices all the time. We make good choices too. Understanding you're going to fall on your face now and again allows you to reduce the worry and stress of being perfect. The biggest problem in our lives is the stress we put on ourselves to be the best we can be. You can't be the best you can be every day. You can be pretty good most days, bad on a few and occasionally at your best. Do the math and you will see you are usually doing pretty well or better most of the time. Being the best can be exhausting. There are times you have to be your best, so be prepared for those moments. Don't use all your energy during warm-ups. Save your best for the game.

Don't keep up with the Joneses. I don't know who the Joneses are, but their situation has nothing to do with yours. Forget the Joneses. Life is not a competition. Everyone's lives and needs are unique. There may be a huge overlap of things in common, but just because the neighbor has a 42′ LCD Widescreen television with surround sound and a Blu-ray player doesn't mean you need one. Unless you want one for your Xbox. Then it's okay. But you're doing it because you want it, not because someone else has one.

There are people who can do things you can't. But the opposite is true too. So I can't hit a curveball and will never play with the Boston Red Sox. So what if I can't do complex calculations in my mind? Many athletes and mathematicians are horrible speakers. I've heard some of them. It's painful. So I can do some things they can't. It's all relative and yet one person's ability has nothing to do with another's inability. Appreciate others for what they can do and learn from their knowledge.

The biggest thing I can tell you about humility is just treat people the way you want to be treated. Do you like being yelled at when you screw up? Then don't do it to someone else. I hear the word respect thrown out a lot. "I deserve respect." "Don't disrespect me." But are you showing the same respect you think you deserve? It's not another person's responsibility to maintain respect for you. It's your responsibility to maintain that respect. How you act and how you treat others determines that respect.

At least, that's my humble opinion.