Levels to It: The Personal SWOT Analysis
Last week, I talked a little bit about why it was important to cultivate a spiritual practice and the first step on the journey.
Those changes that I talked about likely don’t go away as easily as you’d want them to, huh? Rooting into your identity sounds great (read: idealistic) as a stepping stone to success and fulfillment and happiness or whatever the fuck else you’re looking for but it’s much easier said than done.
Spirituality is intensely personal, so I’m not going to tell you how to be or claim that I can help you figure out what you want. I can’t. I’m having a hard enough time figuring that out for myself.
However, struggling together sounds much better to me than struggling alone.
Unless you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
Carl Jung
IDENTITY Recap
We don’t need to be perfect, but we do need to teach each other how to care: about ourselves, our communities, and humanity.
Can’t exactly do that if you think too highly or too poorly of yourself.
I struggled for a long time with a diminished sense of self-worth that stemmed from and consequently perpetuated circumstances that I interpreted as diminishing. Things like homelessness, going to the food bank, sex work — the list goes on. I felt constantly demoralized by the situations I found myself in, almost like I couldn’t take any pride in who I was because my environment didn’t match who I wanted to be.
To be honest, one of my worst fears is waking up 25 years from now and realizing that I’m not in love with my life. The human lifespan is too short, man. Be real and real honest with yourself about what you want because if you’re not the Universe is gonna provide you with a half-ass life for your half-ass ambitions.
So, if you’re ready to get clear (which takes more than one Medium article, by the way), then I invite you to the next grimy-lovely step on the journey of disciplined Awakening.
Step Two: The SWOT Analysis
That’s right, y’all. A SWOT analysis. Because no one feels more soft and cuddly than when you’re discussing potential weaknesses and threats.
This SWOT analysis is particularly special — it’s meant to help you identify your personal Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
If you’re in a committed partnership or someone other than you is invested in your growth, then it works really well to do this with them! Sometimes our closest people see things about us that we can’t or won’t acknowledge. It’s okay to hold yourself accountable — that’s literally why you’re here.
A SWOT analysis is what pushed me to make some huge life changes for 2020. Pre-COVID this year was gonna be my bitch (laughable now). I remember sitting down with my boyfriend at the time & we had been at each other’s throats for months. I was angry: I felt violated, multiple boundaries had been crossed, and I still loved him and wanted to make it work. On his end, he was determined to do his best the way he knew how: with a SWOT analysis. So, shoutout to my ex for the inspiration!
Strengths
Your strengths are what you feel confident in right now. What’s going right for you? What areas of your life do you feel the most fulfilled?
Weaknesses
Your weaknesses highlight the areas you want to improve in. Not to be confused with new things or situations that still need settling, your weaknesses are those character areas that you know can change but need more attention from you than what they’ve been getting.
Both of these areas are what Stoics would call “in your control” — that is, your actions, beliefs, and behaviors have a direct correlation to the status of the areas that are strengths and weaknesses for you.
Opportunities
Looking externally, your opportunities are the different paths that are available to you right now with your current strengths and weaknesses. Discerning your opportunities takes some creativity, desire, and honesty — if you’re not honest in the first part, then your opportunities and threats won’t align with your reality. What’s the point in that?
Threats
Lastly, this section is where the fears come out. What are you afraid of? Write them down here. What obstacles are in the way of you chasing these opportunities? Are these threats ones you want to overcome?
A SWOT analysis is an invaluable business tool that allows high level manages and executives to make decisions for an institution. You can think of your human experience as such too! Your head, heart, gut, and spirit are components of a biopsychosocial system that we all have access to. Yours just might a little more smoothly after this.
I hope that you give yourself time with your analysis and journal about your findings before making any decisive moves.
Until next time.
Find the previous article in this series here.
Additional Resources that will help you with the information in this article:
How to Be Self-Aware by Danny Forest
