Life Evaluation: Are You Flunking Life?

Do you remember the report cards you used to get in grade school? Of course you do. Then there were the evaluations you got in college. Maybe you’ve even gotten performance evaluations from an employer if you went out and got yourself a corporate job after graduation.

But have you ever stopped to evaluate yourself on how you’re doing in life? If you objectively evaluated your life right now, would you give yourself an “A”? Or are you flunking life?  The purpose of grading yourself is to determine where you need to make improvements, and to make sure that you’re giving adequate care to the life areas that are most important to you.  In addition, you want to aim for a life balance that makes sense for you.

I can’t tell you what your report card should look like, what you should grade, or what you should consider a “C”, a “B”, or an “A”.  Only you can do that.

For example, one person might consider that in order to get an “A” in “Fitness” they have to run a marathon, give up meat, and be able to do a certain number of push-ups and sit-ups.  Another person might consider that if they get a clean bill of health from their physician, their weight is within the normal range, they get some sort of regular exercise, and they don’t overindulge in fatty foods and sweets, they deserve an “A” in “Fitness”.  Both are fine.

As a second illustration, maybe you think that in order to deserve an “A” in “Finances” you need to own your own home, have a net worth of a million dollars, be completely debt free, and  be able to cover all of your expenses from passive sources of income.  Maybe your friends think that as long as they can make the minimum payment on their credit cards, they’re on track on their plan to reduce their debt, they have an emergency fund, and they’re sticking to their budget, they deserve an “A” in “Finances”.  Again, both are fine.  It’s your call.

The point is, you should decide which life areas you’re going to grade yourself on, and how you’re going to determine what grade you deserve.  Below are some ideas to help get you started.

Areas to Be Graded On

In school you got graded in subjects such as Math, Reading, Science, History, and so on. So what should you be graded on as an adult? And what overall weight are you going to give to each area you decide to be graded on in order to determine your final score?  I suggest you grade yourself in the following ten areas:

• Finances – 10%
• Learning/Personal Development – 10%
• Vocation/Career/Contribution – 10%
• Romance/Children – 10%
• Social/Community – 10%
• Home – 10%
• Spiritual – 10%
• Fitness/Health – 10%
• Travel/Adventure/Fun – 10%
• Possessions – 10%

Finances

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Finances”:

• Do you have a budget or a spending plan?  If so, how good are you at sticking to it? (0 to 10)

• Do you have an emergency fund (six months of expenses saved up) in case of the unexpected? (0 to 10)

• Are you free of credit card debt? (0 to 10)

• How much is your current income? (0 to 10)

• How much are your current expenses? (0 to 10)

• Are you investing part of your income into income generating assets? (0 to 10)

• Do you have passive sources of income? (0 to 10)

• Are you saving for retirement? (0 to 10)

• Do you have adequate insurance? (0 to 10)

• What’s your net worth? (0 to 10)

Score ____/10

Learning/Personal Development

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Personal Development”:

• Have you set short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals? If so, are you taking steps in order to achieve your goals? (0 to 10)

• Do you treat yourself well? (0 to 10)

• What’s your overall happiness level? (0 to 10)

• Do you have a positive attitude? (0 to 10)

• Do you venture outside of your comfort zone? (0 to 10)

• Do you play the role of the Creator or the role of the Victim? (0 to 10)

• Are you taking steps to improve skills that are important to you? (0 to 10)

• Do you have high levels of confidence and self-esteem? (0 to 10)

• Do you release negative feelings and emotions? (0 to 10)

• How long does it take you to bounce back after a disappointment? (0 to 10)

Score ____/10

Vocation/Career/Contribution

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Vocation/Career/Contribution”:

• Are you doing work you love? Are you passionate about your work? (0 to 10)

• Do you feel like you’re making a contribution, or are you just working for a paycheck? (Are you intrinsically or extrinsically motivated?) (0 to 10)

• Do you get along with your colleagues and supervisors? (0 to 10)

• Do you have a long-term career plan? (0 to 10)

• Are you working toward leaving a legacy? (0 to 10)

• Are you expressing your creativity at work? (0 to 10)

• How productive are you? (0 to 10)

• Do you feel adequately compensated for your work? (0 to 10)

• Do you like your work environment? (0 to 10)

• Do you experience the state of flow when you’re working? (0 to 10)

Score ____/10

Romance/Children

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Romance/Children”:

• Are you involved in an intimate relationship? (0 to 10)

• Do you let your partner know what you want? (0 to 10)

• Do you listen to your partner?  Do you feel listened to? (0 to 10)

• Are you good at resolving conflicts with your partner? (0 to 10)

• Do you spend quality time with your partner? (0 to 10)

• Do you respect each other? (0 to 10)

• Are you both evolving separately and as a couple? (0 to 10)

• Do you have children? (0 to 10)

• If you have children, do you spend quality time with them? (0 to 10)

• How would you rate your parenting skills? (0 to 10)

Score ____/10

Social/Community

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Social/Community”:

• Do you have a few, close friends you know you can always count on? (0 – 20)
  

• Do you make time for your friends? (0 – 20)

• Are you surrounded by positive, life affirming people, or by toxic energy-suckers? (0 – 20)

• Do you make time or money donations to a cause you believe in? (0- 20)

• Are you involved in your community?  Are you helping to make your community a better place to live? (0 – 20)

Score ____/10

Home

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Home”:

• How would you rate your home environment? (0 – 20)

• Do you have routines to keep your home neat and organized? (0 – 20)

• Do you own or rent?  Do you have a mortgage? (0 – 20)

• Do you make necessary repairs around your home? (0 – 20)

• Do you need to declutter? (0 – 20)

Score ____/10

Spiritual

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Spiritual”:

• Do you feel connected to something larger than yourself? (0 to 10)

• How good are you at forgiving? (0 to 10)

• Do you engage in some sort of spiritual practice, whether it’s prayer, meditation, or attending religious services? (0 to 10)

• Do you feel that there’s more love in your life than negative emotions? (0 to 10)

• Do you feel inner peace? (0 to 10)

• Do you feel that life has a purpose? (0 to 10)

• Are you mindful?  Do you live in “the now”? (0 to 10)

• Are you generating positive karma? (0 to 10)

• Do you practice compassion toward others? (0 to 10)

• Do you feel a general sense of kinship with those around you? (0 to 10)

Score ____/10

Fitness/Health

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Fitness/Health”:

• Do you get regular physical/dental check-ups?  Do you have any current health concerns? (0 to 10)

• Do you get enough cardio exercise? (0 to 10)

• Do you lift weights? (0 to 10)

• Do you eat nutritiously? (0 to 10)

• Do you get enough sleep? (0 to 10)

• Is your weight “normal” for your sex and age group?  How about your percentage of body fat? (0 to 10)

• Do you enjoy your fitness routine? (0 to 10)

• Do you have ways to reduce stress? (0 to 10)

• How is your overall energy level? (0 to 10)

• Do you smoke or drink too much alcohol? (0 to 10)

Score ____/10

Travel/Adventure/Fun

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Travel/Adventure/Fun”:

• Do you have any hobbies?  Do you practice your hobbies? (0 – 20)

• Have you done anything “adventurous” lately (bungee jumping, taking up a new sport, tried a new cuisine)? (0 – 20)

• Have you taken a vacation to a place you’ve never been to before this year? (0 – 20)

• Do you spend enough time on leisure activities? (0 – 20)

• Have you been on any creative excursions lately? (0 – 20)

Score ____/10

Possessions

Here are some of the things you might consider grading yourself in for “Possessions”:

• Do you take proper care of you possessions?  Are your clothes/shoes clean and ready to be worn? (0 – 50)

• Are you working toward acquiring a new car, a digital camera, or some other “toy”? (o-50)

Score ____/10

Total Score ____/100

Conclusion

How often are you going to grade yourself?  Four times a year–for a total yearly score–like you got graded in school?  If so, you can monitor your overall progress every three months.  Or maybe you prefer to do it once a month, or just twice a year.  You can even do it once a year in late December.  It’s up to you. Decide what matters to you, and measure whether or not you’re moving toward what you want, by evaluating yourself on a regular basis.

(GravelHillReportCard photo is courtesy of Small Town OK).

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe for free by RSS or e-mail and you’ll always know when I publish something new.

Related Articles:

• 99 Powerful Questions to Ask to Turbocharge Your Life
• 100 Essential Life Lessons
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Habit 1
• The Paint by Number Approach to Accomplishing Your Goals