A self-assessment tool for you

From my toolbox to you, this is a pause-reflect-and-self-assess tool to start.

This is not a quick one, it is the foundation tool!

When you find the time to focus on you, it will surprise you with the results!

It is not an easy task to pause and reflect on our thoughts, feelings, and actions, but is an important step to move us forward (into the right direction) with our lives, careers, relationships, aspirations.

The value and benefits of the self-assessment tools are for those who are moving randomly into the days and weeks without a plan, without a destination in mind, and getting to places that somehow don’t feel right. The one thing you can be sure is that you always get somewhere – time is moving on, even when you do not realize.

When you do not assume the control of your future, someone will lead you – it can be a boss, a partner, a parent, a family member, a friend…. It is not good or bad, it just depends on how much you want to get somewhere else and how late it might be to realize you took a wrong turn several years ago.

When we want to take control of our lives, research tells that we begin with the end in mind. Decide where you want to go first, don't worry about the "how to get there" until you have your destination figured out.

It is like a GPS, you trace where you want to go (future) and you say where you are now (present) - then you focus on the journey. Then you start working on what abilities and resources you need to arrive to your destination, who you want in the journey with you, what kind of path you want to take, what kind of scenery you want to see, what resources are you willing to compromise, what are you going to learn, to how long do you want to take to get there... you know, these normal questions the GPS voice asks us...

So, in coaching we have this great tool for self-assessment called Wheel of Life but I will propose here something adapted and more straightforward so you can work on your own.

I want to reinforce that this is not a coaching session. I share tools, ideas and insights to support your personal development, but a coaching session is much more than tools and exercises you can do on your own (even when you partner with a friend).

What is needed: paper, pencil, time for yourself.

Note: you may need more than one sitting down to complete, and you may come back and enrich it.

Note: Be honest and gentle. This is not a blaming game and feeling sorry for where you are now. This is you taking accountability and awareness of where you are now and setting the course to be in a better place tomorrow, and also feeling grateful for being fully satisfied in important areas of your life.

Note: If you are wondering if this is necessary because you have never done it before, and things worked great. I will just say again that my intention is never to impose or to give the impression that I know better and tell you how to do things. These are ideas based on research and studies that may sound interesting at the right time and the right state of mind to get you on board - and I will always respect that. Stop reading here and it is all right.

Instructions - part 1 of 2

This is a list of 8 important areas and some guiding questions to define what each area represents.

• Physical Health. How is your energy, strength, vitality, flexibility, sleep, overall internal functioning of your body (in the last 3-6 months)

• Mental Health. How is your mindset, mood, quality of thoughts, quality of feelings (in the last 3-6 months)

• Professional Development. How is your career or mission, sense of purpose in the work, learning and excitement about the activities and routines

• Finances. How is your financial situation, your ability to pay the bills

• Family and Friends. How is your connection with the important people in your life, your ability to listen, support them, knowledge of their lives, quality time

• Self-care. How is your ability to connect with yourself, take time and do things of your own choice, grow from learnings of your own interest

• Fun and Entertainment. How is your sense of adventure, excitement, doing new things, feeling alive and joyful from your hobbies

• Connection. How is your sense of connection with something inspiring and bigger than yourself, a sense of spiritual support, a sense of belonging

Instructions - part 2 of 2

1. For each area of your life, rate (1 least to 10 most) on how important they are for you to prioritise and focus now. Note: You might have more than one 10 at the same time.

2. For each area of your life, use the guided questions (or your own criteria) and rate your current satisfaction in this area using a scale from 1 to 10.

3. Find your top two areas that are both high importance and low satisfaction. Focus here first.

4. Start the work setting what you want and the actions to get you moving closer to a 1 number higher satisfaction score. Start the work writing these 4 sentences.

5. Sentence 1: This area is important to me because ____.

6. Sentence 2: What I want to reach in this area is to be _____, to have ____ and to do _____.

7. Sentence 3: I will know I am fully satisfied in this area when I am ____, I have ____ and I do ____.

8. Sentence 4: I will be 1 step better when I am ____, I have ____ and I do ____.

9. Make the plan with 3 actions you will choose (with a 2-week deadline, and one action has to be started in 48 hours).

Note: the exercise is much more effective when you write your thinking process instead of just assigning a number you may forget in a few weeks (usually when you start to procrastinate and find ways to convince yourself it was not that low in the first place).

Note: In the satisfaction rating, it is not how much you are dedicated or how important the area is, but it is how satisfied you are right now on your performance in that area.

Note: these are actions that will move you 1 step closer to the next number in satisfaction - and not the finish line. Start with one step at a time, in small achievable steps. Help yourself win.

Thanks for your time! Thanks for the opportunity to express myself and I hope you get a positive step in your life from all this reading.

All the best, Daniela.