Overview
Any good plan requires 3 things:
Where you are.
Where you want to go.
Steps to get there.
The self assessment is designed to determine where you are currently in life and get a sense of where you might want to go.
Break it down
Step 1: The Good
For each area of life write down at least 1 thing that is good. It doesn’t need to be super awesome, fantastic, with unicorns. It could be something as simple as “I have a job that pays the bills” or “Bob is a new friend I have recently met.”
If you can’t think of anything, don’t stress about it. Seriously. This isn’t meant to create stress. You’ll find something during this process. Otherwise, it will make it easier to choose an area to focus on.
It’s a win-win.
Que Monty Python’s “Always look on the bright side of life.”
Step 2: The bad
Go through each area of life again and write down 1 thing you aren’t satisfied about.
If you can’t think of anything… You’re probably not being honest enough. Come on. Dig deep and get it out. We can’t improve it if we don’t face it first.
Step 3: your happiness
Read over what you wrote for the GOOD and BAD. Now rate your overall happiness in each area of life. There is no set definition for each level of happiness. Just pick the smiley face that seems most appropriate right now.
Step 4: Your 1 thing
Now that you’ve had a chance to focus in on each of the 9 areas of life it’s time to think of your 1 THING.
If you could change only 1 THING in your life what is that 1 THING?
Step 5: what do you do when you are...
What do you do when you’re sad? Bored? Inspired?
Over time you’ll be able to see how your deep rooted habits change over time.
I’ve used this to track patterns and changes in my behavior over time. It’s been interesting to see how I’ve changed from playing video games to drinking to going to the pool hall when I was sad or bored in my 20’s. In my 30’s video games faded out and playing Texas Holdem was my go to when I was bored. As I refined The Happiness Plan I put some focus into changing those habits and I spend my time a lot more constructively even when I’m sad and bored.
CONGRATS!
At this point you’ve set the base context for everything we’re going to do in creating your Happiness Plan.
We’ve still got some work to do, but you’re making huge progress and I’m proud of you!