Many of us were raised in families where modesty was presented as a virtue. “Mom , be good , be modest . Not nice to brag ! It’s shame . ” The opposite of humility is pride . And be boastful is , in himself, a derogatory term . Black and white. Matter and antimatter . Good and bad. But like everything in this world , there is no pure shades of black and white . There are only various shades of gray. And self-praise is not so bad … If you are modest ( in the classical of the term ) NOT mean you have to take pride in your achievements with your strengths . If you do this , automatically the chances that others ( potential customers ) to hear from you greatly decrease . Decrease your chance of being successful .