CULTURAL HUMILITY: CHOOSING CURIOSITY OVER CONCLUSIONS

This world is full of opinions, perspectives, and personal insights—mine included. Every week, I show up on this blog and share pieces of my life, my story, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Today, I want to pause and celebrate something simple but powerful:

• We are all different.

• Our stories are different.

• Our values, experiences, and expectations are different.

And that’s a beautiful thing!

In my role as both a Peer Recovery Specialist and an Inspirational Speaker, I encounter people from every walk of life—people whose backgrounds, beliefs, and lived experiences don’t always match mine. And that’s exactly why cultural humility matters so much.

Most of us know about cultural competence—the idea of learning about other cultures, traditions, and communities. But cultural competence can fool us into thinking we’ve “mastered” someone else’s experience.

Cultural humility, on the other hand, is understanding that you can never fully know or master anyone else’s story. It is a mindset, a posture, and a lifelong practice. It means choosing curiosity over assumptions. Listening over lecturing. Understanding over arguing.

It means saying, “I may not know everything about your lived experience, but I’m here to learn from you.”

Even in my best moments, I still catch myself making assumptions. I still bump up against my own biases. I still have to pause and remind myself that someone else’s truth is shaped by a lifetime I haven’t lived.

And honestly? I’m okay admitting that. Because humility isn’t about getting everything right—it’s about staying open, aware, and teachable.

Cultural humility invites us to value the stories, feelings, and perspectives of others—even when they challenge our own. It reminds us that people interpret the world through the lens of their experiences. Their lived truth matters just as much as ours.

So here’s what I do to activate cultural humility:

• Ask open-ended questions.

• Actively listen.

• Honor someone else’s point of view.

• Hold space for differences.

  
  

Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s making room for someone else’s experience to matter too. And that’s how we build bridges instead of walls.

Here’s a few Reflection Questions for you:

1. When was the last time I paused to truly listen to someone whose background or experience was different from mine?

2. What assumptions do I often make about people before I even speak to them?

3. How comfortable am I with perspectives that challenge my own beliefs or values?

4. In what ways do I practice humility in my daily interactions?

5. What value do I place on stories that aren’t like mine?