Know My Place

There is an old saying that, “you should know your place” or variations of that.  I only know it as a seemingly put down.  The context is normally some upperty person who is talking to someone they consider lower than themselves.
I reckon the US Dictionary puts it well when it says, “The phrase "know your place" is a popular English idiom that primarily means understanding and acknowledging one's role or position within a given social or hierarchical structure.”
It is not confined to what some consider the lower classes.  Someone can be quite high up in the social structures but think of themselves more highly than they should.  It seems - given the right conditions, someone can be “put in their place” at any position.
Yet this morning I was thinking about it and if I take away all the negative connotations, then I think it is a real healthy thing.
Why I think of it as a good thing is that when I know my place I thrive.  My actions do the talking for me.  They reckon everyone finds their level.  If I do my job well, I tend to go up while if I do something badly or am out of my depth, I will tend to go to whatever level suits me.
The thing for me is my aspirations should not impede my progress.   Yet if I talk myself up in a boastful manner, I am likely to be seen as a threat to those above.
I am a total believer in just doing what I am assigned to do well and letting my actions do the talking.  I am also a believer in making the one above me look good and they tend to be more inclined in that instant to make me look good.  I do not pretend that is the case at all times, but fortunately it is the case most times.
When I was in charge of an organization my motto was, “make them look good and they will make you look good.”  That turned out to be the way things were.  To my mind it is silly to make an enemy of those with the power above me.  I may not agree with all but self-promotion threatens and I am more likely to be hindered rather than helped when I talk down the ones above.
So whatever my place is, when I stick to it, I thrive.  Whether high or low in the social structure I am most content when I am where I am meant to be and doing my job well.