A few things, seemingly of passing nature only, can apprise you more than the calculated ones. They are more honest and humble too; and create that self-cognizant view that you had always wanted to develop.
It was an honour that one of my friends asked me to review his MBA essays. I am considered good in English, but it takes far more that some crammed words and exercised grammar to be a good writer, or more so, a correct reviewer. I knew this, and I feared this; and the demon invariably came out when I started reading his essays. They were not what I am used to. They were expressions of facts, and not poetic lyrics. I hate facts, because they are simple and true. The formality of the essays was too good for me, and frankly speaking, beyond my reviewing acumen. I knew the essays were not the best, but they were glorious for me, because I am not good at writing straight facts. For me, two and two is never four. Why should it be? If it is four, then it is Mathematics, not literature. Such views have made my writing unbound, but also corrupt.
Naturally I was not able to add anything to the essays, except amend a few glaring grammatical mistakes. He would have been disappointed, but I was more, because my inability which I had always wanted to conceal was again revealed. I want to be good, nay brilliant, in factual writing. I have taken his essays as the starting point of my melioration. Hopefully in due course of time, I am able to develop not only interest but also flair for that kind of writing.
