On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being exceedingly humble, how humble do we think we are? 

Well, if we think we are very much humble, we are very much not. C.S. Lewis thought of humility not as thinking less of yourself, but as thinking of yourself less. The humble are not thinking of themselves, they are thinking of others. If they do think of themselves, it is with reference to others.  

Now, anyone who wants to write on humility tips his hand and shows his heart. He is either not humble and pretending to be or not humble but longing to be.  

Writing can help discover and make sense of things, but writing about food is not the same as tasting food, and writing about humility is not the same as practicing humility. Often the taste of a dish is not what we imagined, and our humility in practice is not what we hoped for. But, still, we must seek to understand. 

So, in an attempt to understand better, what can I do to grow in humility? First, I must recognize the pride in my own heart, which at its essence is putting myself front and center, over and above others. I must confess when and where I am proud.   

Second, I must cultivate teachability. I do not mean my ability to learn, nor my responsibility to learn. Rather, I mean my willingness to be taught. Furthermore, my willingness to be taught by those I consider average at best, even less than average. 

Here is a true test and true measure of my humility. It is one thing to want to learn from someone I consider better than myself. It is another to learn from someone who I feel is just on my level or slightly better than I am. And it is another thing entirely to be willing to learn, and to believe I can learn, from someone I feel is beneath me. 

At such a point something extraordinary begins to occur. A man or a woman will grow in their humility, but, then, humility begins to grow the man and the woman. 

For example, humility will begin to cultivate the senses, to widen and deepen and heighten them. The humble will begin to find something beautiful in the most common, while the proud will find something ugly in the most exquisite. The humble will begin to always find a reason to praise, while the proud will always find a reason to complain. The humble will no longer just hear music, but will be moved by it. They will no longer just notice a landscape, but will be moved by it. They will no longer just listen to a person, but will be moved by them and for them. Humility will see into the depths of things. 

Therefore, it’s the humble, not the proud, who are best positioned for growth, because humility is fitting them for something more, for something better, for something greater. It’s the humility factor.