The key to success at every phase of life is to know the merits and demerits of your own personality. Without knowing your inner potential, you cannot spark. We are all born with unbelievable capabilities and abilities, which, if revealed properly, can help us use our full potential. But the main thing to consider at this point is ‘how one can know about his personal strengths and weaknesses.’ If you ever perform a SWOT analysis on any academic assignment, you can surely understand this article. In case you don’t have any know-how about the process, then the article will tell you everything about how to conduct a SWOT analysis to know personal strengths and weaknesses.
Personal SWOT Analysis:
Basically, the term SWOT refers to Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It looks at the internal as well as external factors that can affect a business or an outcome. The first two alphabets, ‘S’ and ‘W’, refer to the internal factors while ‘O’ and ‘T’ refers to the external factors for analysis. Especially in case studies, this analysis is a technique to see a situation from all possible aspects. Academic research provides enough data to help with dissertation. Personal SWOT analysis provides an opportunity for a person to make the most of their talents and gain an advantage over their peers. It is actually the act of reviewing the past, present, and future events to know who you are. It starts by asking you some key questions and making an actionable plan.
Ways to perform a personal SWOT analysis:
This analysis was first used by Edmund P. Learned, Kenneth Andrews, William D. Guth and Roland Christensen in the 1960s. It offers a four-square matrix that helps researchers deal with each specific key factor of the SWOT analysis. Furthermore, to perform the analysis, you can follow the following steps:
Set goals for your personal SWOT analysis:
The first step in the personal SWOT analysis is to set goals. Without setting a SMART goal, it will be difficult to know about your inner potential to deal with it. For example, if you are planning to take on a challenging research project, you must know whether you are capable enough to pass through a hard time. In this situation, your goal will be to complete a research project.
Research skills necessary for a goal accomplishment:
The second step must be to search for the ideal skills to fulfill the requirements of a research project. This act will help you set a baseline to set quality standards later on. For example, if you are planning to take charge of a government-approved research project, then the objectives, aims, and methods help you decide on the skills required to complete the task.
Focus on the bright sides of your personality:
This is the step to see your inner strengths. Inner strengths refer to the wide range of mental and emotional resources that helps an individual to cope with all challenges. For example, you can think about your intellectual abilities, research skills, and problem-solving approach to do your best in a research project.
Review the dark side of your personality:
Personal SWOT analysis helps researchers not only see the bright side of your personality to deal with a situation. Rather, it suggests taking your weaknesses into consideration as well. For example, before taking on a research project, you must see whether you can give enough time or dedication to your study by remembering past experiences.
Enlist the potential opportunities and threats to you:
This is the point where you must see the external or environmental facts of a situation. For example, it is possible that you have enough potential to complete a project, and you have made up your mind to deal with your personal weaknesses as well. Still, there are some external factors that can affect your performance, such as financial factors and lab assistance. In simple words, what will be available to you and what not is one of the last steps in a personal SWOT analysis.
Make actionable plans to give your best:
The above-mentioned steps of personal SWOT analysis will help you make informed decisions. After that, based on the analysis, you can make an action plan to achieve your desired aims.
Final Thought:
In a nutshell, SWOT analysis is the process of giving attention to personal attributes before starting a certain project. It helps in exploring the external and internal factors to make a firm decision. Thus, by following the above mentioned steps you can easily define the way to success.