1100, 08032023 (Day #4236)
Self-assessment
In two of the ACE classes I wrote and teach, Business 101 and College Correspondence Courses 101, Week #1 begins with the value of self-assessment. I point out to students that it’s helpful to conduct a “self-evaluation” to ensure their personality and characteristics are compatible with their potential business. A prospective business owner who is passive, shy, or introverted is likely to struggle in a business that requires regular customer interaction. That doesn’t mean they can’t pursue that type of business, only that addressing what is a potential liability can turn it into an asset. My own experience has taught me that self-assessment revealed liabilities I needed to change so I could learn. That realization required humility, honesty, and willingness to change.
Prior to beginning therapy, my independent-study work prompted me to accept and embrace humility in order to clear the path for positive changes and self-improvement. I looked within myself and saw that I was in my own way, and when I consulted with my support network they agreed. I didn’t know at the time that I’d conducted a self-assessment, I simply reacted subconsciously in response to what I read. From a layman’s perspective, I was “winging it”.
Once I began therapy, my Primary Care Provider, Dr. M., led me to more self-evaluation. That eventually evolved into greater self-awareness and my current “steady state” of self-evaluation. It’s almost become “second nature” to me. As a result, my thoughts and actions are more rational and considerate. And a major change is that I’m less prone to acting impulsively – a well-established problem area for “old me” over the years.
I also regularly seek out feedback. I’m receptive to different perspectives and insight from others to supplement my self-assessments. I consider all the information to help me make changes and adapt most effectively right away, hopefully catching things early versus late.
Over time, self-assessment, or self-evaluation, has proved to be a successful strategy for me to assist learning and growth. Utilizing it in conjunction with a commitment to honesty, transparency, humility, and willingness to change has helped me make numerous positive changes and realize growth into a better, steadily-evolving version of “new me”.
Humbly and graciously.
AGM
