Can you intentionally grow in humility?

Yesterday I ran across this list of five suggestions to grow in humility. They are from former (continuing?) Archbishop of Cantebury Michael Ramsey of the Anglican Church.

1. Thank God for anything and everything. Do it often and continually. Thankfulness is a soil which pride can not easily grow in.
2. Confess your sins to God. Criticize yourself in God's presence.
3. Be ready to accept humiliations. They can hurt terribly but they will help you be humble.
4. Do not worry about status. The only status that matters is your relationship and proximity to God.
5. Use your sense of humor. Laugh about things and the absurdity of life. Be able to be serious but not solemn or you run the risk of taking yourself seriously.

I think that's a pretty good list. Humility is a slippery virtue, you can't really pursue it directly. I also just started reading Brian Sander's Elusive: The Pursuit of Jesus and Humility. More thoughts on that latter.

I have always thought of humility as a accurate perception of who we are. It doesn't mean we pretend we're bad at things in which we're actually good. But when we perceive ourselves in relation to God we can not but see our smallness.