Be Humble Day

What the day is

Be Humble Day is observed on February 22. It invites people to practice humility for a day, which means setting aside boasting and the habit of putting yourself first. The day has no documented founder, and the idea of observing it is more of a personal exercise than a public event.

Humility is easy to misunderstand. It does not mean thinking poorly of yourself or hiding your abilities. It means seeing yourself accurately, with strengths and limits both in view.

Origin and background

Humility has been prized by almost every major ethical and religious tradition, from Confucian teachings to Christian and Buddhist ones. In modern psychology it is studied as a trait with several parts: an accurate sense of one's abilities, an openness to other views, an appreciation of others' strengths and a lack of need for the spotlight. Researchers have also looked at intellectual humility, the willingness to admit that you might be wrong, and have found it linked to better learning and more constructive disagreements.

In work settings, studies of leaders have found that humble ones tend to build more trust and a more cooperative atmosphere. The business writer Jim Collins described the most effective leaders in his study of companies as combining personal humility with fierce professional determination, which he called Level 5 leadership.

False modesty is not the same thing. Downplaying an achievement to fish for praise is a kind of showing off. The humble response to praise is to say thank you and to credit the people who helped.

How to take part

• Listen more than you speak in your next conversation, and ask a follow-up question before offering your own story.
• Admit a mistake without excuses, and say what you will do differently.
• Credit someone else for a result you shared in.
• Ask for honest feedback from someone you trust, and take it without defending yourself.
• Do a job nobody notices, such as tidying a shared space or helping a neighbor.
• When you receive a compliment, simply say thank you.