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Evaluate your performance – Live A Great Life Podcast by Dr Prem – Chapter. 28

Evaluate your performance - Live A Great Life Podcast by Dr Prem – Chapter. 28


Here is a quote – It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask of himself, “Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?”

—Carl Sandburg

Every night, we should make it a point to take some time to recall our day before sleeping. When we don’t do this, we are unable to make amends for the things that we did wrong. We keep telling lies to ourselves about our gestures, behavior and overall mannerism since we never take the pain to analyze our true self. We love to feel okay with what we are, what we do, and what we think of ourselves. Eventually, with no access to our subconscious self, such an attitude becomes a habit that does not die easily. Our lack of self-analysis, thus generated, hinders our way to excellence, which we always claim to pursue.

Propounded by Abraham Tesser, a distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Georgia, the Self-Evaluation Maintenance (SEM) theory23 says that self-evaluation is a continuous process of determining personal growth and progress, with respect to a psychologically close person. Tesser further establishes that on the path of self-evaluation, a person is influenced by their relationships with others. The process of self-evaluation leads to self-definition and thoughtful comparisons.

We should try to see the better side of our being – talents, sensitivity, freedom to feel deeply, and the sense of love that calls for expression. We should never be afraid of finding the truth about our personality since what we see now has always been visible to others. They didn’t tell us about it since they were busy in correcting themselves first – an action that separates us from them. Then again, it’s never too late to start afresh. Only a strong belief in ourselves and our ability to change things, habits, and ideologies that we never wanted in us make further progress possible.

Self-evaluation calls for courage, honesty, and persistence

Self-evaluation and self-discovery make for an enlightening, incredible, and sometimes painful process, especially for someone who never thought along these lines earlier. For such a person, it takes immense courage to let go of unconsciousness and embrace the change. The fake delight of unconsciousness reacts in weird ways to make self-evaluation and self-assessment a taxing affair. At this point, one should exhibit determination to endure the pain of self-discovery.

Thus, be honest in your findings and list those traits that require action. Rather than jotting down the positive ones, show some persistence in finding the negative ones as well. Once you find them, make your best efforts to ensure that your next day doesn’t have their least trace.

SELF-evaluation REQUIRES DISCIPLINE

What most of us are habituated to is a degenerative practice that impels us to find faults with the designs, ideas, mannerisms, and characters of others. Our partial or complete blindness to our faults and great interest in exposing others is a character flaw that can derail us forever. A constant vigil over our words, actions and relationships keep us from falling prey to a false estimation of our so-called virtues, which, to others, appear nothing more than a pompous parade of qualities that we never had.

‘Take a moment toask yourself, “Have I changed for the better or theworse? Who am I living my life for?”’

—Anonymous

We just need to remove the blinders from our eyes to have a neutral, level-headed and logical viewpoint based on self-evaluation. However, before you do so, be a better judge of your capabilities, qualities and, of course, incapabilities (if any – you’ll find at least one for sure) as well.

Isn’t it a remarkable way to self-evaluate one’s capabilities and performance? It certainly is. We should always be ready to explore our positive and negative traits by evaluating our real self from time to time. Always remember that you need to be thoughtful when evaluating your positive and negative traits since it is the only way to bring about positive changes in you that you will cherish forever.

Instead of indulging in social comparisons, start comparing what you are today with what you were yesterday and the day before. This way, you’ll find positivity within and around you, which will inspire you to radiate it.

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