“Above all, it is necessary for a person to have a true self-estimate, for we commonly think we can do more than we really can.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 5.2
Seneca encourages to practice self-assessment without fear of downgrading out beliefs. It suggests that it is just as damaging to underestimate our capabilities as it is to overestimate them, and encourages us to judge ourselves accurately and honestly in order to ascertain our true potential.