It’s continuously humbling to work hard, you know? As long as you’ve got a good work ethic and a sense of humor, I don’t think anybody can become too much of an egoist under those circumstances.

Rachael Ray links humility less to deliberate self-denial than to the daily discipline of work. In her view, sustained effort keeps a person grounded because it constantly confronts them with limits—time, fatigue, mistakes, and the need to keep learning. She adds “a sense of humor” as a second safeguard: the ability to laugh at oneself prevents self-importance from hardening into egoism. The quote reflects a pragmatic, craft-oriented ethos often associated with working professionals in public-facing careers—success is best managed by staying busy, staying teachable, and not taking one’s own image too seriously.