Are you one of those persons who like to evaluate your performance during the year? I am. I do it every year. I have been doing it for more than a decade with very positive result
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Nevertheless, I completely understand those who decide not to follow this practice.
Edna Mode’s claim: to never look back because it distracts you from the now, is a legit one. After all, it is only in the present where you can really experience life and fully exploit your potential, and living in the past or in the future is one of the most common and difficult-to-deal distractions.
This sounds redundant but the fact is that so many people live their lives in the past (dominated by the events that they could not get over with) or in the future (dominated by the expectations they have built for themselves).
These distractions can even grow to overwhelming proportions.
There’s a story told by Viktor Frankl in one of his public interviews where he depicts part of the life of two men, Nazi concentration camp survivors that had suffered the same terrible circumstances during their imprisonment and got to meet again thirty years later.
One of them was able to continue with his live and had become a very successful business person. The other one lived in the ostracism. The later was still bitter and suffering the consequences of the trauma lived.
The only difference between them was that the former had made a conscious decision to live in the present.
Back to the subject, giving some basic conditions, taking an objective look to our past can be a very powerful source of information. It has been for me.
Professionally, it has become a tool I had to learn the hard way. I once made a huge and costly mistake allowing other professionals to evaluate my work under their parameters.
Today, I perform my own evaluation and take the time to distribute it to every member of the project I am involved with, even if nobody asks for it. This practice has become my most powerful tool in my professional career.
I was so happy with this tool that I decided to implement it in my personal life. The outcome has being very different, as expected, but as much worthy.
I have being able to obtain critical information for solving some of the most important questions one may ask to oneself, like: what is it that you really want and what are the major obstacles in your life for achieving your goals?
And there’s a bonus. The act of reviewing your experiences during the whole year produces awareness (That’s why I decided to include this practice as part of the mindfulness training to become a true explorer).
It works like this: as soon as you start reviewing your experiences, with as many details as possible, you start “savoring” the year. Soon, new conclusions arise, like recognizing that, maybe, the year was not as bad as it looked, or that time has not passed as fast as it seemed.
Preparing yourself for your auto-evaluation.
If you decide to evaluate your performance during 2011, there are some basic conditions that you might want to previously contemplate.
1.- Start Now.- First of all, it would be a good idea to start taking the first steps now (right after thanksgiving), before the food, the social commitments, spirit and the traffic takes over of your time.
This first steps may include reading your agenda, preparing the environment, marking a date in the calendar, preparing whatever ritual works best for you.
2.- Drain it from emotions.- You have to commit yourself to make an objective analysis, which implies forbidding your emotions to take over. Whenever a strong emotion, -especially guilt- takes place, it always will stand in your way of seeing things clearly, and you won’t be able to perform an objective analysis.
3.- Edit:- The third important thing to consider is to be aware that you are allowed to “edit” the process. It is your analysis and is your decision to leave out whatever you consider irrelevant, time consuming or energy consuming, and to focus on what is most related with your goals,
So, what do you think? Will you dare to evaluate your performance during 2011?
Hi there! I’m Gustavo and Frugal Science is about helping you rediscover your exploring nature and enjoying the benefits of looking life in a different way. Anybody can become a true explorer –it’s our nature-, all you need is a mindful attention and some frugal science.
It’s funny, Gustavo. Self-evaluation has been one of my before-bed routines since highschool. I’m sure it arose from living in the teenage gauntlet, but it has been so helpful to me as an adult. Just before sleep, I lay down and run through my day. How did I do with the kids, today? How went the interpersonal stuff? What did I get done, and how well did I do it? I run through conversations like movies and process the nonverbals, and so on. What did I do well, and what can I do better? What do I need to learn in order to do it better?
It sounds bizarre, but once I’ve done this I can let the day go and have a fresh start, tomorrow. The nights that I am too stressed or too tired to take 10 minutes to empty my brain, that are sleepless, restless and make for a rough morning. Or maybe I’m just crazy?
Desi recently posted..We Are Bad Fish Parents
These are some great tips for evaluating where we are and where we want to be. I like your advice to start now. Often, we put it off waiting for some arbitrary starting point…like Jan 1.
Great insight for living in the “now” while preparing well for the future.
Steve Rice recently posted..“To Thine Own Self Be True…”
In my (non-blogging) profession, my performance is evaluated a lot. At least yearly by my employers, but also more regularly when I submit a grant. Since this has been my way of life for so long, I have become better at documenting things… At the end of the year, I like to share accomplishments with my various teams. I am always surprised by how productive we all are, and it is nice to think about what we did well. I tend to get caught up in the things I haven’t yet finished.
Kristen recently posted..I Am Glad I Made it to Yoga Since Physical Activity is Linked to Better Mood and Less Depression
Great post evaluating evaluation!
The second step is the kicker. Whenever a strong emotion emerges, it needs to be dealt with before one can be objective – it can’t simply be set aside.
And given oneself permission to edit the process – that is so important!
Elinor Predota recently posted..Science Fiction Sunday: Litany Against Fear — Dune, Frank Herbert
Gustavo,
Intriguing. Evaluating ourselves is very similar to what bosses do with employees with performance reviews. Looking back and finding room for improvement is always a good thing for moving forward. The trick is to move forward with the information and not remain stuck.
Thanks! Sherrie
Sherrie Koretke recently posted..A New Direction
Hi Desi!
It is not crazy at all. On the contraire! I was thinking about making something like that in a daily basis. The idea is taken from a Jesuit explorer. Apparently, all Jesuits are obliged to do so.
Gustavo| Frugal Science recently posted..3 tips for evaluating your performance during 2011 (Mindfulness training 03)
Hi Steve! You are so right. You actually don’t need a special time to start. You may start by “taking the next visible step”
Gustavo| Frugal Science recently posted..3 tips for evaluating your performance during 2011 (Mindfulness training 03)
Hi Kristen! I like what you do. I feel it is very aligned with the idea I am proposing.
Gustavo| Frugal Science recently posted..3 tips for evaluating your performance during 2011 (Mindfulness training 03)
Hi Elinor!
You are right! It is also the most difficult. I think that the whole idea is not to forget our pat problems but to drain them of emotions.
Gustavo| Frugal Science recently posted..3 tips for evaluating your performance during 2011 (Mindfulness training 03)
Hi Sherrie!
I am glad you liked it. The best of luck with the new direction of your blog!
Gustavo| Frugal Science recently posted..3 tips for evaluating your performance during 2011 (Mindfulness training 03)
[...] You go back to your working desk and continue with what you were doing: you were evaluating how 2011 went for you. Right there, you remember my last week’s post about draining your emotions before facing the task. [...]
I agree with you this is ture looking back and finding room for improvement is always a good thing for moving forward. The trick is to move forward with the information and not remain stuck. Thanks for the sharing.
Paul Richard recently posted..Open forex account
I will do the evaluation because I see that there is really a need for this. There have been so many changes lately and I need to think clearly about all these.