Too Modest?

I have this thing about not liking to talk about what I'm good at.  I used to think it was humility but in fact, it's pride.  How so?  Because if someone knows I'm capable of something, then I have to perform.  And if I don't meet their expectations?  Then I fail.  If I fail?  I'm humiliated and possibly, rejected. 

If it sounds like I'm being facetious, I'm not trying to be.  It's really what keeps me from piping up that I say, speak Chinese.  Then I (humbly) bust out a phrase or two.  Instant compliments!  你的中文说的很好！It's also oddly enough what keeps me from doing things that I'm not so good at (to which there's a long list)--like no thanks to that microphone at karaoke.

I imagine a life free from this needs the root understanding of Acceptance.  I have a life spent on trying to get that more and more. 

An image of freedom (thank you AC for striking a model pose):