Self-Evaluation: Do More than Just “Fine!”

Every Sunday afternoon, just after a short nap, I browse on my diary and consequently make a schedule of activities for the coming week. As I sit on my chair, I can’t help but wonder how many other people around the world are doing the same thing. I guess I am not the only one doing that. Shelves of diaries of different designs, planners of all sizes and other tools intended for scheduling purposes, are available for everyone. Surely, the importance of proper planning cannot be underestimated.

But after all the properly managed scheduling, the greater challenge is yet to be encountered. Ever wondered how to keep track of your weekly improvement and maintain the attitude of keeping your way on the right direction? Here are some useful guidelines that you may want to answer for yourself to keep your toes on the ground, your steps synchronized with what you have in mind, and your activities triumphant.

• Did I attain my goals?
• What was my motivation in achieving these goals?
• What problems and obstacles came up along the way?
• How did I succeed over these problems?
• Was the time and effort I spent in reaching these aspirations well spent?
• While attaining the goals, were there other better opportunities that came by which may have been more fruitful for my sake?
• Did I gain more confidence upon achieving my aspirations?
• What aspirations did I not achieve?
• Why was I not able to attain the said goals?
• Generally speaking, can I literally say that the time and effort I devoted were focused on the more important matters as I planned them to be?
• Are there goals I was not able to pursue from previous weeks that I want to pursue this coming week?
• Was I able to take some time off from my daily routine to be alone and listen to my inner voice?
• Did I reflect about myself, refocus my attention, replenish my resources, and renew my spirit for the tasks to be done for the following week?
• What did I learn based on my experiences last week?
• Are my goals realistic?

Giving honest answers to these questions will help you evaluate your performance in a weekly basis. One may ask: “Why do I need to evaluate myself in such a very short interval of time?”

Through this type of assessment, we become more aware of our development as individuals on a very personal level. We also continue to build our strengths, check on our limits, and get in touch with reality. It may come hard at first; but believe me, this will really pay off in the end. And you’ll become more satisfied and fulfilled with what you have achieved rather than just saying: “Well, I’m doing fine.”

There is so much to learn as we live each day. Seneca emphasized it too when he said: “As long as you live, keep learning how to live.”