“Above all, it is necessary for a person to have a true self-estimate, for we commonly think we can do more than we really can.”
SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 5.2
If the first step of your philosophical journey is to realize that you have awareness and the ability to think critically about your thoughts, then the second step is to give yourself a full self-assessment before you do anything else. Just as you would before beginning any big project — whether a home improvement task or a new initiative at your office job — the first job is to take a full stock of where things are at the moment, what progress has been made, what is still needed, what has already been tried, etc. It’s no different when you’re working on yourself; you have to assess yourself boldly and honestly.
I make a special point of honesty and boldness, because The Daily Stoic today points out that it’s very common to be afraid of being totally truthful in your self-assessment. Perhaps you’re dreading what you’ll find. You know that when you start looking for your strengths, you might find weaknesses that you’d rather not admit to yourself at this time.
But it’s very important to have a full accounting of any gaps in your approach thus far, your learning, your personal growth. It’s better to look those weaknesses straight in the eye to set yourself up for success, and so that you can correct them. Anything less than brutal honesty, and you’re essentially lying to yourself — and I would argue that you’re not really serious about self-improvement either.
In the process, you might be happily surprised as you uncover strengths that you’ve been overlooking or downplaying. You might find that you’ve got a lot more in the tank than you thought, and mad skills that you hadn’t realized. You are probably stronger than you realized to this point.
Overall, as Ryan Holiday states, it’s really important that you “cultivate the ability to judge yourself accurately and honestly.” That’s the foundation for everything that follows, and we need that self-assessment to be correct in order to grow and blossom as a human being.
