You’re Only as Good as Your Benchmark

4 steps to knowing yourself better

Most people tend to either overestimate or underestimate themselves. We hardly ever have a real picture of our abilities.

Think about it: How often have you seen someone (or even yourself) claim to be good or bad at one thing, only to find that their result shows otherwise?

For example, you may think you’re a terrible public speaker, but when you actually give a presentation, people compliment you on your confidence and delivery. Or maybe you believe you’re an amazing cook, but your friends think it’s not that great.

Our personal benchmark is often different from how others perceive us. And this can have both positive and negative effects on our lives.

On the one hand, it’s important to set high standards for ourselves and continuously push ourselves to improve. On the other hand, we can also be too hard on ourselves and limit our own potential because our benchmark is based on inaccurate perceptions.

Creating your true personal benchmark

Knowing what you’re good at is important in succeeding at anything. As the management expert, Peter Drucker, said:

“One cannot build performance on weaknesses, let alone on something one cannot do at all.”

I highly recommend reading Drucker’s Managing Oneself. It’s a very short book you can finish in one sitting. I’ve made a habit of reading it every year to remind myself about my own strengths and weaknesses.

The science backs this up, too. Research in psychology points out a phenomenon known as the Dunning-Kruger effect when people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability. On the flip side, those with high ability underestimate themselves.

So, how do you know if you’re truly good or bad at something? How do you set your personal benchmark? Try asking yourself this:

“What have I done in the past that’s most similar to the goal I want to achieve now? And what were my results?”