I don’t know who needs to hear it, but people can spot humblebragging a mile away. So, rather than trying to downplay your achievements and skills, it’s better to speak about them openly and confidently. Of course, there is a reason people see bragging in a negative light, but in certain cases, it is important to acknowledge your accomplishments, which are essential for your growth.

However, due to the fear of being perceived as narcissistic, people tend to exchange it for something more modest while still seeking validation. These occurrences don’t go unnoticed and end up being shared on the r/humblebrag subreddit. Hopefully, these examples will teach us to strike a balance between recognizing our accomplishments and being humble.

Let’s aim to communicate confidently, honestly, and with authenticity.

To learn more about where it is acceptable to brag and how to do it appropriately, Bored Panda got in touch with Peggy Klaus, the author of two best-selling books, BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It and The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They’d Learned Sooner. Read the full interview below.

More info: peggyklaus.com | Facebook | Twitter

#1 A Wholesome Humble Brag, But A Humble Brag Nonetheless

Image credits: j_ryz

#2 Yup, He’s Really Humble This One

Image credits: reddit.com

#3 The Resemblance Is Uncanny

Image credits: reddit.com

As one of America’s most sought-after communication and leadership experts, Peggy emphasized the importance of distinguishing between good and bad bragging behaviors and explained how good bragging can be appropriate and effective in various situations. “I want to be clear that talking about yourself does not imply arrogance or boastfulness. That is a result of bad bragging behaviors such as talking incessantly, never asking about others, interrupting, bringing the conversation back to you, condescending, exaggerating, and lying, among others. Good bragging is subtle and seamlessly works its way into business and social interactions. And there are many situations where you should be bragging, the good way: conferences and networking events, friends’ parties (you never know who might be looking for a great employee), interviews, and performance reviews. With the latter, you should be fully prepared with a robust collection of information about your work, goals, achievements, and things your clients and colleagues have said about you. If you have received your review prior to a conversation with your boss, make sure you address their feedback,” wrote Peggy Klaus.

#4 Dudes Twitter Is A Goldmine For This S**t

Image credits: StringStrangStrung

#5 So Pretty And Not Even Trying

Image credits: reddit.com

#6 A Guy I See Regularly On The Elevator Where I Live Had This Slip Out Of His Pocket And Casually Said, “Oh, Sorry You Had To See That.” He Then Left It On The Elevator When He Got Off

Image credits: reddit.com

Lots of individuals, due to the stigma of bragging, might seem unable to promote themselves. If you, too, experience this, Peggy advises reframing the perception of bragging. “First, you have to be open to letting go of the old perception of BRAG as a four-letter word and reframe it as taking pride in yourself. Just like you tell others you love to be proud of yourself, you need to do that for yourself. And then BRAG, the good way: share something truthful about yourself, either personally or professionally, in an energetic and conversational manner which creates interest and excitement in your audience.”

#7 Ugh My Screen Time Is So High

Image credits: dukeofmorningside

#8 Haha Even When I’m Ugly I’m Hot Haha Lmao

Image credits: reddit.com

#9 Crying Emoji

Image credits: Leigh_Not_Lee

However, Peggy, like many others, expressed her dislike for humblebragging and encouraged individuals to own and express their accomplishments with confidence. She wrote: “I find humblebragging to be annoying because what the person really wants to say is ‘I’m really pleased and proud of this accomplishment’ but instead frames it with ‘faux shyness’: Example: ‘It was embarrassing (but cool too) to be singled out yesterday by our CEO for my work with Girls Inc.’”

“Instead, own it and say ‘It was wonderful to be acknowledged yesterday by our CEO in our town hall for the work my team and I do with Girls Inc. Thank you, (CEO name).’”

#10 I Am So Grateful

Image credits: bonbonellio

#11 Damn, Ed, That Must Be So Hard For You…

Image credits: Apprehensive_Ad5188

#12 …i Found One In The Wild…

Image credits: reddit.com

There are various myths surrounding bragging, which can lead to individuals resorting to humblebragging or failing to acknowledge their accomplishments altogether. “There are so many misconceptions, or what I call ‘bragging myths’ that result from our cultural, religious, and familial backgrounds: if you do good work, you will be recognized and rewarded, it’s a sin, it’s not nice, nice girls don’t do it, people won’t like you, etc. The truth is that if you don’t let people know about your successes, the obstacles you’ve overcome, and your value to the company, you will stall and/or derail your career. I have seen too many people passed over for stretch assignments, promotions, and bonuses because they didn’t let people know.”

“Identifying the bragging myths that you are holding on to is the first step in addressing them: your reticence to talking about yourself. Then, follow the steps in the book for creating brag bites, bragologues, fly-bys, and a brag bag so that you can be ready when the situation calls for it,” shared Peggy.

#13 Way Too Many Scholarships

Image credits: reddit.com

#14 Maddie Ziegler With Jimmy Kimmel

Image credits: reddit.com

#15 Does This Count?

Image credits: Themagicmuir

Being unable to brag is a problem many people face; however, women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and neuro-diverse individuals face additional challenges. “In my 20 years of teaching thousands of people the art of bragging, I have found many men who have difficulty bragging. Yet, women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and the neuro-diverse face even greater challenges with self-promotion due to conscious and unconscious bias and a narrower band of acceptable behavior and communication. In addition to exploring their own personal barriers, these communities must discern their organization’s attitude toward self-promotion, and create short, pithy entertaining communications (I call these bragologues and fly-bys) that will resonate with their audiences,” shared Peggy.

#16 My Friend’s Oopsie

Image credits: namastebird

#17 My First Encounter

Image credits: reddit.com

#18 From Whisper

Image credits: anonhumanontheweb

And lastly but not least, Peggy shares her excitement that you might be interested in. “I am very excited about my new program, “Bragging beyond Bias,” Stepping up, Speaking up and Succeeding as your true self.” All of us face biases, but for people of color, women, LGBTQ and the neuro-diverse, self-promotion comes with even greater challenges. Participants learn how to attract and retain a diverse group of associates, build an effective culture of celebrating accomplishments, and become a champion for setting open collaborative environments.”

#19 It Is So Difficult Being Such A Milf!

Image credits: DiosMioMan2

#20 Horrible Attempt At Humble Bragging…

Image credits: reddit.com

#21 Lady Gaga With That Hard Flex

Image credits: reddit.com

#22 Wow! Must Be Hard To Be That Smart

Image credits: reddit.com

#23 “Failed” Attempt At Icing Bragging To Beginners

Image credits: reddit.com

#24 He’s Learning How To Be Humble

Image credits: KingRichard278

#25 Just Tired Of Always Being An Alpha

Image credits: 100m_iles

#26 Friend Is Mad His $1,280.00 Hoodie Isn’t Warm Enough On His Trip To Alaska

Image credits: reddit.com

#27 Guy Goes To Gordon Ramsey Restaurant And Acts Like A Food Critic When He Doesn’t Know What A Z Score Is

Image credits: angery_bork

#28 From A Adventure Motorcycle Group On Fb. Original Post Was Asking People To Post Pictures Of Their Moto Related Tattoos

Image credits: FarmersOnlyJim

#29 Is This A Humble Brag?

Image credits: reddit.com

#30 Thank You Random Facebook Dude, Very Cool…

Image credits: reddit.com

#31 Reddit Can You Tell Me Why I’m So Hot And Irresistible??

Image credits: auraaxoxo

#32 Well Alright

Image credits: reddit.com

#33 Yep, That Will Definitely Help

Image credits: reddit.com

#34 Valedictorian But Also R/Ihavesex

Image credits: reddit.com

#35 Look At What A Great Person I Am !

Image credits: reddit.com

#36 Doesn’t Look A Day Over 50 In My Opinion

Image credits: reddit.com

#37 This Old Car Is Cool, But Not As Cool As The One I’m In. It Costs A Lot Of Money In Case You Didn’t Know

Image credits: BE46ST

#38 Straight Up Bragging

Image credits: cttrv

#39 I’m Just Too Nice It’s Socially Unacceptable

Image credits: millindebomb

#40 Does This Count?

Image credits: reddit.com

#41 Elon Musk Humble Brag

Image credits: Due_Anteater9116

#42 Oh No! I Messed With My Brother’s Psych Project!

Image credits: reddit.com

#43 Truly In Awe Of This Legendary Humblebrag

Image credits: reddit.com

#44 So Forgetful

Image credits: reddit.com

#45 Rolled My Eyes So Hard It Cracked My Neck

Image credits: reddit.com

#46 A Professor At My School Posted This

Image credits: reddit.com

#47 It’s A Reoccurring Problem Guys

Image credits: Swaaxn

#48 Double Brag

Image credits: Bullfrog_Candid

#49 No? Just Me?

Image credits: itsJHall

#50 He Even Said, Be Humble

Image credits: coljacobson

#51 “I’m Still The Man”

Image credits: reddit.com

#52 Ninja The Humblest

Image credits: reddit.com

#53 This Guy Posted A Paragraph And Half Of It He’s Just Jacking Himself Off

Image credits: GimmeDiLightMan

#54 Hate When This Happens

Image credits: oycmetzlow

#55 My Day Was Going Great Until This Guy Flexed On Me With His Retweets And Blackheads

Image credits: reddit.com

#56 Completely Necessary

Image credits: reddit.com

#57 8th Language Lmao

Image credits: reddit.com

#58 Gold Eggs For Sale!

Image credits: reddit.com

#59 This Guy Hasn’t Played High School Baseball In 15 Years But He’s Always Posting Stuff Like This

Image credits: reddit.com

#60 Oh No I’m Too Nice!

Image credits: MrBeast

#61 It’s A Hard Life

Image credits: faded-pink

#62 Okay?

Image credits: cmdygld

#63 Leave Him Alone Guys

Image credits: sIugsouI

#64 “Lost Count Around 300”

Image credits: onlypostingonce-_-

#65 Omg Crying

Image credits: Chesterumble

#66 How To Fix It

Image credits: chirag1220

#67 I Love This Guy His Stories Always Make Me Laugh Considering He Lives In His Moms Basement

Image credits: ShowMeYourSheeps

#68 Pretty Mild Tho..

Image credits: reddit.com

#69 Guys I Did A Thing, Nbd

Image credits: reddit.com

#70 Just Got Another Husband

Image credits: reddit.com

#71 Posted By A Well Known Fitness Entrepreneur. Equal Parts Obnoxious And Irresponsible

Image credits: reddit.com

#72 “I Had Both But Love The Meme”

Image credits: reddit.com

#73 I Can’t Stop Cringing

Image credits: reddit.com

#74 Gardiel

Image credits: Not-So-Dev

#75 Oh Goodness Lol

Image credits: CinnamonGirl94

#76 You Can Just Tell He’s Ready To Mention This At Any Time, Any Place

Image credits: HinyTed

#77 Tiktok Is Wild

Image credits: runsanditspaidfor

#78 Savage Student Athlete

Image credits: reddit.com

#79 As A Head Girl, I Got Only 97%

Image credits: fumbling_moron

#80 I Literally Get Offers For Employment Probably Five Times A Week

Image credits: sparklingoat

#81 It’s So Hard To Clean My Big House…

Image credits: Intelligent-Web-8401

#82 I’m Intense

Image credits: WildGrem7

#83 Saw This On Twitter. Tough Being Famous

Image credits: Chuswo

#84 How Sweet

Image credits: Maleficent_Tree1051

#85 What A Nightmare It Must Be

Image credits: BigBlueMountainStar

#86 Interviews?!

Image credits: Nidus86

#87 Only Three Languages?!

Image credits: kil0baseFIZZ479

#88 “I Can’t Hide Things Very Well, Can I?”

Image credits: shygirlnextdoor420

#89 You Could Never Imagine Her Potential

Image credits: reddit.com

#90 Not So Humble In The Middle But Got There In The End

Image credits: reddit.com

#91 Guys Everyone Texting Me Straight Away Omg

Image credits: reddit.com

#92 I Cant Tell If This Is Humble…

Image credits: ChunkyMilk42069

#93 Not Sure If This Fits. My Friend Thinks Very Highly Of Her Looks. She’s A Instagram “Self-Proclaimed” Model

Image credits: girlinanemptyroom

#94 Bruh

Image credits: barelybarebears

#95 Posted To An Article About A Kid Getting Food Poisoning

Image credits: sasealya

#96 How Hard It Is To Be Sooo So Smart

Image credits: Gilgameshbrah

#97 Oh No! Not Again!

Image credits: geekymcdykehair

#98 “When I Text My Sister Lmao”

Image credits: firelord_mel

#99 Couldn’t Help Himself

Image credits: LazyGamer321

#100 I Got AirPods

Image credits: reddit.com

#101 Life Is Just So Hard

Image credits: reddit.com

Source: boredpanda.com