Some blogs are long diatribes of my personal opinion, others are book reviews, while I occasionally share some wisdom that I’ve learned from personal experience. This blog will be a little different. I’m going to take some information directly out of a book and ask you to do a self-evaluation.
In Napoleon Hill’s classic book, “Think and Grow Rich,” he covers several principles about taking a burning internal desire and turning it into it’s physical equivalent. While I don’t agree with all of his premises or belief systems (it’s what I would call an “80/20 book” – I might agree with 80% of it and cross out 20% of it), the author does provide some very valuable thinking points and I would like to share one of those with you today.
Many of us understand the value of self-evaluation, but don’t know where to begin. Or if we practice self-evaluation, we evaluate ourselves by using ourselves as the standard… huh? We need some questions or a guide to bring us to a new perspective. Here are direct questions that he provides from his book; although there are several, I would challenge you to spend some quality time considering each of these:
Do you complain often of “feeling bad,” and if so, what is the cause?
Do you find fault with other people at the slightest provocation?
Do you frequently find mistakes in your work, and if so, why?
Are you sarcastic and offensive in your conversation?
Do you deliberately avoid the association of anyone, and if so, why?
Does life seem futile and the future hopeless to you? If so, why?
Do you like your occupation? If not, why?
Do you often feel self-pity, and if so, why?
Are you envious of those who excel more than you?
To which do you devote most time – thinking of success or of failure?
Are you gaining or losing self-confidence as you grow older?
Do you learn something of value from all mistakes?
Are you permitting some relative or acquaintance to worry you? If so, why?
Who has the most inspiriting influence on you? What is the cause?
Do you tolerate negative or discouraging influences which you can avoid?
Are you careless of your personal appearance? If so, when and why?
Have you learned how to “drown your troubles” by being too busy to be annoyed by them?
Do you neglect internal bathing until auto-intoxication makes you ill-tempered and irritable? (I like his wording there…)
How many preventable disturbances annoy you, and why do you tolerate them?
Do you have a definite major purpose, and if so, what is it, and what plan do you have for achieving it?
Do you have a method by which you can shield yourself against the negative influence of others?
Are you easily influenced by others, against your own judgment?
Has today added anything of value to your stock of knowledge or state of mind?
Do you face squarely the circumstances which make you unhappy, or do you sidestep the issue?
Do you analyze all mistakes and failures and try to profit by them, or do you take the attitude that this is not your duty?
Can you name three of your most damaging weaknesses? More importantly, what are you doing to correct them?
Do you encourage other people to bring their worries to you for sympathy?
Do you choose, from your daily experiences, lessons or influences which aid in your personal advancement?
Does your presence have a negative influence on other people as a rule?
Have you learned how to create a mental state of mind with which you can shield yourself against all discouraging influences?
Do you feel it your duty to share other people’s worries? If so, why?
If you believe that “birds of a feather flock together,” what have you learned about yourself by studying the friends whom you attract?
What connection, if any, do you see between the people with whom you associate most closely, and any unhappiness you may experience?
Could it be possible that some person whom you consider to be a friend is, in reality, your worst enemy, because of his/her negative influence on your mind?
By what rules do you judge who is helpful and who is damaging you?
What is your greatest worry? Why do you tolerate it?
Do you change your mind often? If so, why?
Do you usually finish everything you begin?
Are you easily influenced by what other people think or say of you?
Do you cater to people because of their social or financial status?
Whom do you believe to be the greatest person living? In what respect do you consider this person superior to yourself?
How much time have you devoted to studying and answering these questions?
Happy mirror time.
Chris Craft
The Soapbox 