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I learned a hard lesson in 3rd grade.
We all wrote a name on a slip of paper… and dropped it in the bucket that was passed around the classroom.
We were voting for the class representative for the student council and the choice was between me and Suzy.
My teacher tallied the vote on the chalkboard. One tally for me. One tally for Suzy. The race was close.
The lead kept flipping between us.
At last, we were tied… and one last slip of paper remained. My teacher opened it up and read, “Suzy.”
I had lost by one vote.
Feeling down and rejected… I told my mom what happened when I got home. “Who did you vote for?” she asked.
“I voted for Suzy.”
"Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less."
It was only then, I realized, my vote was the deciding vote.
I thought I was supposed to support others. That voting for yourself was selfish.
I should let others decide… and what’s one vote anyway?
But what I was learning was…
Your own vote is actually the most important one.
Not just because it could be the deciding vote. It very well could be.
You are the most important because you must be your biggest fan.
If you don’t believe in yourself first, how do you expect others to?
This was a tough lesson, but one I never forgot.
Don’t make the same mistake I did.
When you’re in the running,
Always vote for you.
“Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less.”
– C.S. Lewis
British Writer
