Thou shalt not be humbled by an award

I am a well-known pedant regarding the word 'humbled'.

If such pedantry offends, look away now.

Still here? Okay. Brace yourself:

Using 'I am humbled' when you win an award is the opposite of what you mean.

To be humbled is to be taken down a peg.

It is to have your standing diminished.

You can be humbled on the sporting field when your opposition outclasses you.

You can be humbled when you learn you've been touting an erroneous view in public, particularly when you should have known better and have just learned why it's wrong from a 15-year-old.

If you are humbled by an award, you're saying you were better off before you won it.

I'm guessing that's not what you mean.

If so, please try not to inadvertently offend the bestowers of said award by saying that winning has in some way diminished you - because unless it's the wooden spoon, it likely hasn't.

The opposite - that the award has increased your standing, authority and/or credibility - is more likely true.

Instead, try these phrases:

• I am honoured...
• I am shocked and delighted...
• I did not expect this, but I am grateful to receive it...
• I feel unworthy... (I reckon this is what most people mean when they say 'I am humbled' in the sense that they feel they are not equal to others who have won the award).

This does not mean you cannot *be humble*.

That's something else entirely.

Acting with humility - avoiding egregious bragging, for example - is absolutely fine.

...but truly humble people rarely have to declare themselves as such.

It's a word better employed to describe others than yourself.

Act as humbly as you please, but do yourself and award organisers a favour by banishing 'I am humbled' from your acceptance/thank-you speeches and posts.

On that note...

I am surprised and honoured to have won the inaugural Best Book category of the Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards last night!

Money School: Become financially independent and reclaim your life took out the Best Book gong for this inaugural international award.

I'm in excellent company with some very impressive winners in the other categories.

I encourage you to check out:

• The winner of Best Academic Paper - Professor Annamaria Lusardi, for 'Financial education affects financial knowledge and downstream behaviors'
• The runner-up for Best Academic Paper - Professor Panu Kalmi for 'The Effects of Game-Based Financial Education'
• The runner-up for Best Book - Gene Natali for 'The Missing Second Semester'
• The special commendation for Best Book - Will Rainey for 'Grandpa's Fortune Fables'
• The runner-up for Best Non-financial Service Company - MoneyTime, and
• The special commendation for Best Project for Under-served Communities - Your Toolkit

That's just a selected smattering of the 24 award winners (out of 40 finalists from 150 entries), so be sure to check the rest out here.

I am thrilled, delighted, proud and a little astonished to have won. It's an exciting moment for me personally, but it also reflects the Herculean efforts of dozens of people to create the book and then get the word out.

I am especially grateful to my publisher, Penguin Random House, my advance readers, and every fan who has taken the time to share the book with a loved one, write a review, record a testimonial or simply ask their library to stock the book.

And, of course, every person who took the time to vote has my undying gratitude. Just like the 21 May federal election, every vote counted!

I am also thoroughly impressed by the Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards team. They have pulled off a first-class experience from nomination to ceremony. I don't know how they're going to top it in 2023, but I have no doubt they will! Bravo especially to Michael Gilmore for founding these awards and taking them from zero to 100% in mere months.

This award also has a bittersweet twist for me because of the date of the ceremony.

31 May is the anniversary of my sister Megan's death, with 2022 marking the 13th year since she passed.

It's lovely to have a positive association for this date, and I like to imagine my mother Fran toasting this success with Megan.

In the meantime, my father Paul is still Earthside to tell me how proud he is, and how proud both my mum and sis would be too.