Panorama Blog

Filipinos on being shy.

“Ate, ang galing mo naman mag serve.”
“Hindi naman!” (Sabay Nora Aunor shrug)

“Ang ganda naman ng Ayos mo.”
“Hindi naman!” (Sabay Nora Aunor shrug)

This is common in the Philippines. When you commend someone for a good job or looking good, they always say, “hindi naman”. I really don’t get it. The answer can be a simple thank you or thanks or just a nod with smile will do.

“Hindi naman” is being shy, trait which most Filipinos consider positive (because they confuse being shy with being humble)but actually negative. Let me borrow the words of Pastor Ed Lapiz:

“Shyness is acquired because of lack of encouragement, lack of stimuli in the family, domineering friends, inferiority feelings, conditioning of the family, institution – people squeezing him of his uniqueness and of the energy of expressing this uniqueness.”

Shyness results to being dominated and enslaved by bullies and manipulators who use influence and money to elevate themselves to a position of power.

The fact that someone received praise means they did something worthy of recognition or they are worthy of getting one, unless the one who noticed isn’t sincere (those people placed in circle number 8 in Dante’s Inferno) in their remarks which can be identified even by the most stupid.

Take pride in what you do or how you look, most especially if you put extra effort. It doesn’t make you humble when you say hindi naman, it’s being shy. Humble and shy are different from one another. It doesn’t make you arrogant to acknowledge a positive remark with thank you, unless it was injected with sarcasm, it’s having self worth.