Describing what self assessment is

"Self-assessment is a structured, objective and visible procedure or set of procedures whereby individuals, groups and management within an operating organization evaluate the effectiveness of their own operational safety against predetermined targets, goals and other performance expectations. The self-assessment process is only complete when the corrective actions have been implemented and their adequacy confirmed."

"Self-assessment is essentially a critical comparison of existing activities and results against a predetermined set of performance expectations."(Source: http://canteach.candu.org/library/20051901.pdf)

The excerpts above come directly from a document that relates to safety practise within nuclear power plants.  However we can apply the same principles of self assessment and evaluation to every area of our lives.

Being self aware and reflective helps us to understand the past and what has happened, examine the present and what is happening, as well as look toward the future - what will happen.

"A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it." Frederick Douglass