[Grammar] I am not in the habit of speaking highly of my self.

[newkeenlearner]

Which one is better?

I am not in the habit of speaking highly of my self.

I don't like to speak highly of my self.

 

[emsr2d2]

"myself" should be one word in both. With that correction, they're both OK and natural. I can't say that either one is better because they don't mean the same thing.
"Not being in the habit" of doing something isn't the same as "not liking" doing something.

 

[newkeenlearner]

Actually, I wanted to say the following. What is the difference in the meaning?

I am not in the habit of speaking highly of myself, but I am a great chef/swimmer/footballer.

I don't like to speak highly of myself, but I am a great chef/swimmer/footballer.

 

[Raymott]

People are not usually in the habit of doing things they don't like, but surely you can see a difference there.
Hint: One is a statement of what you actually do; the other is statement of what you like doing.

 

[newkeenlearner]

Hint: One is a statement of what you actually do; the other is statement of what you like doing.

I didn't get that hint.
Did you mean "for what we do we use "habit", and for what we like we use "like""?

People are not usually in the habit of doing things they don't like, but surely you can see a difference there.
Hint: One is a statement of what you actually do; the other is statement of what you like doing.

But I guess people often say "I am not in the habit of telling lies."

 

[Raymott]

I mean we use "I'm not in the habit" if it's not a habit, and "I don't like doing" if you don't like doing something. That's the meaning. It's literal. You get to choose what you want to say.
If you mean A, you say A; B if you mean B, etc. The hearer will get a similar message any way.

When you ask the difference between two sentences, you should always consider that they mean what they say, and that the meaning follows from that. This must occur in your own language too.

But I guess people often say "I am not in the habit of telling lies."
Yes, I suppose they do. What do you think they mean?

 

[newkeenlearner]

Thank you Raymott. I got it. It was great explanation.

What do you think they mean?

I think they are not liars or maybe they usually don't tell lies.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think they might tell lies occasionally but not habitually.

 

[Roman55]

Hmmm, but they might be lying.

 

[newkeenlearner]

So, those saying they don't like to tell lies never tell lies. I don't think so.

 

[emsr2d2]

So, those saying they don't like to tell lies never tell lies. I don't think so.

You're right. Of course that's not true but we all do things we don't like sometimes.