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If a person wanted to change this middah, and uproot it, how would they come to the source of this defect in charachter?
I imagine that it is from a few things like an inferiority complex as well as a lack of bitachon and a sense of entitlement.
How can we hold ourselves small?
Slabodka mussar repeatedly stresses that low self esteem is the root of gaava (gadlus ha’adam is at the core of slabodka mussar).
It could be not seeing the good in others/only focusing on the bad. If you don’t value people, then you may think that you are better than others.
IIRC, the Hovot HaLevavot says that Gaavah comes from sheker.
Actually, Gaava is the root of all other bad Middos. It feeds on and breeds many other bad Middos. It is a self view that goes deeper than any other attitude. Working on this should be first, before going on to other Middos that are based on it.
The first thing is to correct actions. Think how you would behave if you were no better than anyone. After that, you start trying to change the underlying attitude. Gaava doesn’t have to be based on a specialty, and a specialty doesn’t have to cause Gaava. It is a Midda.
There is nothing wrong with knowing, and even saying, that you have a specialty. Some people boast because they think it will attract attention or friends. That’s not necessarily Gaava, although it is foolish. The main idea in the mind of someone with this Midda is the emphasis in his mind of the term ‘me’, and how he positions that with ‘people’. Sure it helps him prop up his fluffy seat if he has a specialty to point to, but the specialty is not inherently a Gaava causing virus.
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