As a frequent listener of The School of Greatness podcast hosted by Lewis Howes and having a new found love Audiobooks, I had to purchase The Greatness Mindset; his newest book, on Audible. I’ve currently haven’t moved past +chapter 3 for over several months due to sitting on this post that covers the exercise in chapter two.

In chapter two, Howes goes over an assessment he dubs the “Greatness Performance Assessment”, which is essentially a GPA for ones life. For the sake of the book being more palatable for its readers, he does a shortened version of his more personalized Greatness Coaching. Howes explains that everyone’s lives consist of three different areas known as the three players: Business, Relationships, and Wellness.

This assessment had me dig deep and be vulnerable in ways I wouldn’t want to normally express to others, but hopefully some of you all to also do the same and be sure comment what your scores are.

Business:

1. I am doing what I love and want to do professionally
   • Personal Score: 6
     • This was a hard one to score as I’ve been at my current organization for three years now and been my current supervisor role for almost two; both anniversaries are this month. I love playing a part in the clients treatment process along with watching my develop staff develop. I’ve learned a lot of leadership skills being a supervisor, picked up some knowledge from the therapists on site and have made use of the resources and trainings.
     • The caveats are one the work days/hours, schedule being Sunday through Thursday. Being a supervisor how long I will be on site depends on the staffing levels and being present for current or anticipated crises. Being salary I don’t get any extra pay for overtime efforts so I try my best to keep a healthy work-life balance and be on site from 6-10 hours for a role I am on call 16 hours on my work days. My role also has a lot of different hats, I interview, train, hold monthly meetings and do presentations with new staff. I do the employees timecards, give feedback and round with them. For my client oriented I go to weekly meetings about the clients progress, run two groups per week with the clientele, supervise clients at times and fill in as a care staff when we are not in the required ratio of staff to client.
     • I definitely love the company and the values we promote I’d be a liar to say I don’t get burnt out from time to time in the role and since I start grad school less than a month I’m considering one how I can manage a work schedule that occasionally requires my presence at times that I may be in school. Also I’m considering where I want to ultimately end up where I do get my graduate degree.
2. I am earning the revenue I want based on my ability.
   • Personal Score: 5
     • “Based on my ability” is a hard question to answer. I know I have some marketable skills that I am underutilizing and my current role pays decent enough that in most states I could own a good home, but alas I live in California. Having a bachelor’s only mean so much and at the end of the day it is about the drive to learn new skills to boost one’s earning potential whether through ones role or side hustle.
     • I haven’t doubled down on the blogging and use the soft skills I’ve earned from my journalism experiences either and haven’t done too much to improve my writing skills in a couple years outside of my one off posts. I’ve been sitting on this post for three months already. I’m not going to pretend to overvalue my skills, but I definitely have several avenues to boost my earning potential.
3. My business and professional efforts make an impact on others in a positive way.
   • Personal Score: 8
     • Working at a residential treatment center, I see change from the clients all the clients in a positive way. I have witnessed time and time again clients struggle with mental illness, behavioral, and/or substance related struggles and upon their discharge from our facilities as a more confident individual ready to tackle their struggles. I’m more than happy to say I am proud of the work I do.
4. I make steady measurable progress towards achieving my business goals.
   • Personal Score: 6
     • Defining what my business goals is definitely a good place to start. I’m certain that I am in the correct field and I begin graduate school in August for my Masters in Social Work. I have experience in a supervisory role and have certifications that will help my transition after graduate school that much more smoothly. I’d like to incorporate a lot of what I learn in school to turn this into a life coaching/self-care blog with a side of fitness tips.
5. I have an intentional plan to grow financially and professional for the next three years.
   • Personal Score: 6
     • I wouldn’t say I have an intentional plan to grow financially/professional to that extent where I have everything figured out, but I do intend to be done with graduate school in the next three years and want to start making connections to learn how to start private practice set up shortly after I become fully licensed among other things. Nothing set in stone especially for the next three years and I could always go with the more operations/administrative side of things with the administrator certification I currently have and most open positions for this that offer reasonable salary require a Masters.
   • Set Score: 6.2

Relationships:

1. My family and/or partner relationships are healthy, fulfilling and where I want them to be
   • Personal Score: 5
     • I do live about 2500+ miles from my family, but I still call most of my immediate family members pretty frequently and visit once or twice a year.
     • Its been over a year since I’ve had a full long term partner and currently single, so that basically sums it up.
2. I often engage in social connection, meetups, happy hour events, etc.
   • Score: 9
     • If anything I’m constantly going out whether it be fitness classes, running, having a drink with friends, hiking, snowboarding, etc. I have a pretty solid small circle of friends that I do activities with.
3. I invest time and energy in relationship with my family, partner, friends, and colleagues
   • Score: 7
     • I’m working on being more intentional and mindful of how much time and energy I spend with friends. My family is all out in Virginia so all of my interactions with family are via phone or FaceTime. For partners as well I’ve been more intentional in my dating, but currently not in a serious relationship. Outside of the partner aspect I feel that my time and energy is at an appropriate level. To go along with the previous player of business, I believe I need to spend more time networking, developing more business connections to meet those business and revenue goals.
4. I practice honest communication even when the topic is uncomfortable or difficult
   • Score: 5
     • This is something, I’ve actively worked better to get at. I’ve got more comfortable setting boundaries with individuals in my life and focusing on what I want to or need to do. I’ve been saying no to some social events when I need some me time for things like working on this blog.
     • Going back to the past relationship conversation for statement one in this player. I was the one to end my last relationship and though it was a hard to do and my decision little prolonged. Though I went on a date relatively recently and basically affirmed things about that I really didn’t agree with in my last relationship. Definitely a skill I’d like to continue to work on.
5. I have an intentional plan to grow my relationships for the next three years
   • Score: 8
     • A big portion of this goes along with my business aspirations and intention to attend more business events. Getting into graduate school will definitely provide the environment I need to make those connections. I also plan to spend less time drinking on weekends with friends, I don’t do it in excess but I’d like to spend more of my free time being more productive. Relationship wise its hard to say, not being in anything serious at the moment, I don’t want to put a timeline on my future with a partner as everyone moves at their own speed.
   • Set Score: 6.8

Wellness:

1. I am physically healthy and exercise often
   • Score: 9
     • Most of my free time revolve around physical activity, whether it be racing, the gym, hiking, skateboarding, snowboarding, etc. I’d like to be more consistent with stretching/yoga due to minor retrolisthesis in my lumbar.
2. I make mindful nutrition choices regularly
   • Score: 8
     • I try to cook once a week and most of my budget towards food is spent at the grocery store. My workplace providing meals for the clients as well as staff, with the meals provided mostly consisting of healthy/organic options. I usually with have lunch or dinner, and sometimes both throughout the work week. My junk/fast food consumption is pretty rare.
3. I am great sleeper and make it a priority in my life
   • Score: 9
     • My sleep is great and uninterrupted. I usually get from 6 – 8 hours of sleep on work nights and usually the full 8 on weekends. I’m usually on bed at 1130 at latest on worknights.. I have my iPhone using sleep mode to remind me when its time to get ready for bed. If anything I just need to work on scrolling on my phone before bed.
4. I frequently practice self-care and strategies to optimize my mental health
   • Score: 7
     • There are many tools I use for this. Therapy is obviously something I’d recommend to everyone. I recently just stop seeing my most recent one a couple months ago. Journaling is something I do from time to time, sometimes I’ll even follow the prompts that are given to the clients at work. (Eg. Goals for today, Goals for tomorrow, Positive Affirmations, Things that I accomplished) I do meditation every once and a while, but am non consistent with it.
5. I have an intentional plan to better my health for the next three years
   • Score: 8
     • I am already on a good track and in good health, I always make sure to make use of the doctor if anything feels off and physically I’m in great shape according to my primary care doctor. I just recently found I have a little slippage in my lower back(retrolisthesis) and that I was born without an L5. Crazy right. My main focus is remedying my back to slow down up any of the vertebrae deterioration and to stay healthy enough to continue doing races and other fitness events. I have three running events coming up; Spartan stadium, Long Beach Marathon, and No Shortcuts San Diego. My plan to cook more often and be continue consistency with my meals.
   • Set Score: 8.2

Greatness Performance GPA: 7.06

GPA Scale:

2-4.4 – Rebuilding

4.5-5.9 – Accelerating

6.0-7.4 -Winning

7.5 – 8.9 – Playoff Bound

9.0 -10 – Championship Level

✌🏿

— MKH