Needs Assessment Skill Recap
The ability to assess your needs is not an isolated skill but a practical tool for understanding choices, making changes, and moving toward personal growth. It is deeply influenced by our environments—at work, at home, or relationships. High-pressure workplaces and chaotic environments are two examples that can suppress self-awareness, while supportive settings foster it. Daniel Goleman has published extensively about emotional intelligence and described how it requires environments that encourage reflection rather than productivity at all costs. Brené Brown's research on vulnerability highlights that a key to self-awareness is a safe, non-judgmental space to thrive.
Carl Rogers, the humanistic psychologist, spoke of self-actualization—this idea that each of us has the potential to become the most whole, most authentic version of ourselves. For Rogers, the journey to self-actualization wasn't a straight path; it required an environment rich with unconditional positive regard. Imagine being in an environment where you're accepted just as you are. Your mistakes are not seen as flaws but as part of your growth. In this environment, self-awareness flourishes because there is no fear of rejection. It's a place where you can look inward, acknowledge your strengths and shortcomings, and see them as part of the same journey toward becoming the best version of yourself. Rogers' idea of self-actualization depends on environments filled with unconditional positive regard. Ultimately, designing our lives involves choosing and creating environments that align with our values, support reflection, and foster authentic growth. Self-awareness flourishes in environments that nurture rather than inhibit our ability to look inward, helping us to lead more fulfilled lives.
Take the modern office as an example. Your boss criticizes your work, and you feel a flash of anger or embarrassment. You swallow it down, but it lingers. Without the opportunity to pause and reflect, that emotion simmers, waiting for the following minor incident to bring it to a boil. Goleman argued that emotional intelligence starts with awareness—catching yourself in the moment, labeling that embarrassment, and using that understanding to respond rather than react. It's not your job itself; it's the environment that fosters or stifles that awareness.
Then there's the physical space. Imagine your living room after a long week—clothes draped over chairs, dishes piled up on the counter, papers scattered on the table. It's cluttered and chaotic; strangely, you feel the same way inside. It's almost as if the disarray around you feeds a mental fog. There's something about the external mess that breeds internal messiness. On the other hand, think of how a clean, organized room makes you feel—calmer, more collected, more open to looking inward. In this case, your environment isn't just a backdrop to your thoughts; it's an active player that influences your ability to notice them.