When we set a goal for ourselves, we typically like to create checkpoints for that goal. Or at least, that’s what you should be doing. The first step is to create the goal while the second is ensuring you can reach it. And what better way to ensure we can achieve your goals than to evaluate our progress?
Evaluation and self-assessment are crucial for your personal and professional development. Self-assessment lays the groundwork for goal setting, self-motivation, and a healthy life balance.
What Does Evaluating Mean?
Personal development and self-assessment is a phrase used by scholars, mentors, coworkers, therapists, and even family members. Essentially, it’s a term that refers to activities designed to encourage self-improvement. Any time you are making a conscious effort to improve yourself, whether that be personally or professionally, you are participating in personal development. Upon participating in personal development, you must evaluate your progress and assess the steps you have taken to grow.
The Importance of Self-Assessment
The importance of self-assessment is synonymous with personal growth and development. The importance of self-assessment should be recognized because it allows you to become the best version of yourself. Self-assessment and evaluation give you the skills and confidence you need to be able to navigate any situation with more clarity.
Self-assessment allows you to have a more accurate sense of self-awareness, a critical aspect of being able to read a situation. It helps you figure out what you’re good at and what needs the most improvement. Evaluation also allows for better communication which in turn, allows for healthier relationships. When you are able to understand your habits, tendencies, and communication style, you can make the proper changes to improve connectivity among the people around you.
How to Evaluate Your Growth
The key to evaluation and self-assessment is building greater self-awareness to support your growth. If you want to run a faster mile, you must first measure your distance over time. Consider these steps to get started on the path to a better self-evaluation.
Critical thinking. Start by asking yourself: What does self-evaluation mean to me? My boss? My friends? Where do these answers align and how can we incorporate them into our self-assessments?
Think of examples of those around you. Are there people around you, maybe at work or in your personal life, that exemplify good self-assessment? Are they able to accept constructive criticism well? Do they have a good sense of self-awareness? What are some of their habits of success?
Think of examples within your history. Can you remember a time when you have shown a great example of self-evaluation? What happened to provoke that and how can you replicate it to adhere to your own goals?
Set Yourself Up for Success
Without proper self-assessment, failure is inevitable. Self-evaluation is key to personal and professional growth and helps you keep track of your own progress. Identify roadblocks with consistent self-assessment and soon your journey will start to have a clear pathway.
Source: Natalie Brehm (2022) What is Personal Development and Why is it Important?
Source: People Builders (2024) 5 Reasons Why Accurate Self-Assessment is Crucial for Personal and Professional Growth
Source: Bruce Tulgan (2023) 4 Steps to Better Self-Evaluation