It is easy to believe things about ourselves despite all evidence to the contrary.

We might think we are a great spouse, but you cannot remember the last time you spent an evening together in happiness.

We might believe that we are committed Church members, but when the numbers are tracked, we attend worship less than half of the Sundays in a year.

We might have strong convictions about how good of a friend we are to others, and yet we have no real friendships, and the ones we do enter never last very long.

We might have no doubt that we are generous without ever auditing our books. 

It is easy to fall into this gap between what I believe about myself and what the evidence truly reveals. Self-evaluation can never be based on personal feelings; they will always lead us astray.

One way to grow as a person is to do a regular audit, at least annually, of my beliefs about myself versus the hard facts. No one wants to expose their failures, but it is only by knowing reality that we can begin to make changes to improve.