ABSTRACT
Humility is more than a personality trait. It is a practice and a skill that makes for better science. In this chapter, I share personal reflections to story my own process of coming to humility as a global health researcher. Drawing on experiences from my early career, I reflect on how bearing witness offered progressively insightful lessons on humility. From the passionate stories of the Chief of a First Nation in (what is now called) British Columbia, I learned about relationships and the importance of humility in understanding history, context and place before showing up to ask for something. From a table of Kenyan women commenting on the relevance of wellness indices to their context, I learned about humility in listening for direction about what matters. And from the privilege of supervising and mentoring international students, I learned with how in many contexts around the world, one’s mind and determination is the one resource available to them – grounding me in humility about the privileges that enabled me to navigate an academic trajectory, and illuminating systematic challenges others must face. I close by adding questions to guide reflection on this CCGHR Principle, inviting others to consider how they can commit to a constant practice of humility.
