Humility

"I was given a badge for being most humble, but they took it away because I wore it."

There are many qualities we can strive for that only require the action to make them intrinsic. For example, I don't have to feel courageous to be courageous. If I act in a courageous manner, that is courage. I don't have to feel love to be loving. If I act in love, that is love. I would have to clarify that in this case I would define love as "acting in someone else's best interest." With that definition, you cannot "act in love" and "pretend to love" at the same time. Acting in someone else's best interest is an act of love, regardless of feeling.

One quality, however, can not be attained in this way--humility. You cannot act humble to be humble. Humble is more attitude than action. In fact, although we can attempt to portray humility in action, humility itself is deceptively elusive. The simple acknowledgment of the existence of humility within yourself is the first sign of its lack of existence. You can probably only attain true humility when you're not striving for it.