“The view we adopt of ourselves profoundly affects the way we lead our life. You can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.”
-Carol Dweck
The new year is a fresh start, a time to set new goals and create an intentional plan for 2026; to conduct a self-evaluation. But before you leap into planning, let’s pause in presence. Ask yourself: What truly matters? What do you want to accomplish? This is the time to stop and ask: Where am I now? The goal is to truly know yourself and to understand who you want to be tomorrow, and who you want to be five years from now.
Before moving to the next year, evaluating where you are now is a grounding exercise. A self-assessment, an honest look at your life. It is a good time to take inventory of who you are. What have you accomplished? What lies ahead? What brings meaning and purpose to your existence?
We all have a choice: we can design the life we want, or we can drift through life, often letting others make our decisions for us. This past year’s blogs have focused on owning your life’s path, taking responsibility, and setting goals for your ideal life.
During November and December, we take inventory, complete a self-evaluation, and build a plan to empower ourselves toward personal growth, transformation, or renewal in the new year. To find a meaningful path, first, we need to know where we are now.
Why does self-evaluation matter?
Self-evaluation is not about judging your life. It is about reflection, stepping back from the whirlwind of our lives, and assessing who we are and who we want to be. It is about understanding your life. It is about observing our present circumstances, relationships, jobs, hopes, plans, and dreams. The takeaway should be a focus and clarity on what really matters. Where should we invest our time and energy to reach our desired life?
I encourage you to think of an inventory as a snapshot of your being. A Snapshot is a collection of vital information about your life to date. The Snapshot takes inventory of your life and gathers the essential information into a composite picture. The composite image shows you at a glance where you stand in your life.
Observation and gathering
We start by observing. Gathering what is important. There are no wrong or right answers; just be honest. It does not have to be perfect. You can use an outline, bullet points, or free-flow writing. But please try writing this exploration on paper, where you can see, edit, and revisit. I believe the saying “out of sight, out of mind” is true. If you write your plan on paper, you can bring it out to remind yourself of everything you want to accomplish.
I write using the stream-of-consciousness writing style, which is the natural, unedited flow of my thoughts, emotions, and sensory perceptions. It can always be edited later. This is a way to get your ideas out on paper, where you can see and digest them, and then edit. But more important is that you do it your way, maybe using a bullet list, or even some diagrams and sketches.
What were your accomplishments this past year? How about the accumulation of accomplishments in your life? What have you built, led, completed, or contributed to?
What are you taking inventory of?
We are a composite of everything we have experienced — people, places, and events. As well as the skills, knowledge, and abilities that we have accumulated. Where you are today is a result of the building blocks you have established over many years. These building blocks are the guts of the inventory.
People in your life
Who are the most significant people in your life? Many people in your life have contributed to who you are now: spouse, partner, parents, siblings, grandparents, children, and friends. These are the same people who will support you once you have established new goals. Identify these people; they are part of your growth.
Events in your life
Events in your life shape you. It could be your education or career. There are major life-changing events that can alter the course of your life. These events could include illness (you or another), moving, marriage, divorce, or the death of someone close to you.
Building blocks of your life
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities (SKAs) & Your Skill Set Toolboxes
- Soft skills (interpersonal skills)
- Psychological toolbox (abilities)
- Social toolbox (social skills)
- Educational toolbox (formal & informal education)
- Professional & volunteer skills (resume)
Present Snapshot – Time & Energy
How you spend your time and energy will determine if you reach your goals. Therefore, it is important that you put time and energy into the priorities in your life.
What are you doing that makes you feel most alive? What is your passion? What gives you the drive to keep moving forward? Think about waking up in the morning. What is it that will make you excited and motivated? What is it that you cannot wait to do? What brings you joy? On the other hand, what is depleting your energy? What in your life makes you feel bad?
There are 168 hours in a week. Do you know how you spend your time? As you can see from the simple pie chart below, we spend most of our time on general survival activities, working, grooming, sleeping & eating.
Future Snapshot
Where you want to go is a matter of your imagination. In your mind, picture yourself in the future. Where do you want to go educationally, socially, and professionally? How about your health and finances? What does tomorrow look like?
Therefore, knowing where you are now helps to build a framework for the future you.
- What have I accomplished in my life so far?
- What are my achievements?
- What are my skills, knowledge, and abilities?
- What are my strengths?
What are your priorities? You cannot tackle everything at one time. You will need to identify the most critical areas of your life, and that is where you will set your goals. Remember, there is only so much time and energy. We must focus on what is essential in our lives. What truly matters.
Here are some examples of self-inventories:
- Work history: Your resume
- Health inventory: What is your health today? What goals could you set to improve your health, nutrition, physical fitness, and cognitive health?
- Volunteer resume: What skills have you gained or improved from working on a volunteer program? You can transfer these skills, knowledge, and abilities to career/job skills or a personal passion.
- Educational inventory: Do you know at a glance on one piece of paper all your education, including continuing education credits, degrees, seminars, workshops, lectures, and books you have read?
- Risk management: Environment, safety, do you have insurance where needed, have you taken an inventory of your personal assets, and are they protected? Our environment plays a crucial role in our safety, success, and happiness.
- Spiritual or philosophical alignment: Are your actions aligned with your deeper values or beliefs?
- Relationships and community: Are you nurturing your relationships, building a social support system, making friends, and helping others?
- Intellectual and creative pursuits: Are you feeding your intellectual and creative needs?
Defining Yourself Through Self-Assessment
I complete a self-evaluation twice a year. On my birthday, and right before the new year. By setting a date to evaluate your progress, you can adjust your goals:
- Lack of genuine interest. This goal is not essential, and by reevaluating, you can temporarily drop it. Remember, we want to stay focused on a few priority goals. The goals that will bring you closer to your hopes, plans, and dreams.
- More substantial interest. You may want to add some layers to a goal because you are more invested as you move closer to the target. Or you now have a better understanding of how to achieve the goal.
An age-old adage states that success breeds success. Early success can significantly increase future achievement. What have been your successes at this point?
Narrow your focus and gain clarity on the desired outcome
Steps to Follow
- Who – You are the who! It is all about you.
- What – Is developing a process of observing and analyzing your inventories and plans of action.
- When – Quarterly, twice a year, or annually. I tried monthly, which was too much for me, but it might work for you. I review twice a year.
- Where – Finding the time to work uninterrupted, away from music, people talking, or TV. Set your devices away from you. This work requires introspection and focus.
- Why – To learn what it takes to reach your goals. Evaluate your progress, correct any incorrect paths, add or expand goals as needed, and remove unnecessary goals.
- How – You need to develop a system that works for you. A procedure that you can follow consistently.
It is stepping back and viewing your life from a distance. “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
– Socrates.
What comes next?
Self-evaluation helps us connect with our values, intentions, and experiences. Where are we now? Without this pause to reflect, we risk working toward goals that are not aligned with our long-term plan. We risk reacting to the world’s noise without connection to our inner voice.
What Truly Matters? Finding Meaning in a Chaotic World
Conducting an inventory or self-assessment is a way to get to know yourself better — starting with a seed planted in your mind. Where are you spending your time and energy now? Once you have identified what matters most, ask yourself:
- What do I want to carry forward?
- What needs to be released or reimagined?
- What kind of support, structure, or strategy will help me move with intention?
Begin with presence, take a deep breath, reflect, document. Next week, we will build on this foundation with a personal S.W.O.T. analysis, identifying your strengths, transforming your weaknesses, and navigating opportunities and threats that shape your path forward.
Book Recommendations
Vision, Goals & Self Evaluation: A guide to self assessment and personal growth, by Danny Ballard
Self-Analysis, by Karen Horney, M.D.
Citations
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