Dear Reader,
The best way to get acquainted with the criteria for a vibrant, healthy, fulfilling lifestyle, have fun in the process, and see how you stack up, is to rate your life below.
For easier scoring, click
Print Out.
Rate Your Life
1. Have you found
your dream life or your dream occupation? Or passions and
hobbies that captivate you regularly for extended periods of time,
giving you great satisfaction and flow experience? That can be
anything, from pursuing the perfect wave in
surfing to brain surgery. If you are living it, give yourself an “A”. For examples of "A" type lifestyles click here.
2. Is your work
rewarding and fulfilling? If you feel you would do it even if
you weren’t paid, assign an ”A”. A “B” if you are compensated
adequately, but can’t wait for retirement. A “C” to an “E” if your
job is unfulfilling, stressful and not rewarding monetarily or
psychologically. If you are already retired, rate “A” to “E” on how
satisfying and fulfilling is your retirement life.
3. Whatever life you're leading, what's the ratio of time you spend
• Actively engaged: creating,
producing, working, writing, painting;
• Participatory, involved play and
recreation; and
• As passive, spectator and in escapist
entertainment?
Give yourself an “A” if the ratio
is 45 (Creating) : 45 (Active Recreation & Play) : 10
(Escaping). “B” if the ratio is 50 : 30 : 20. “C” if it
is 70 : 15 : 15 or 15 : 15 : 70.
4. Are you choosing to be an open
or a closed system? Do you regularly get out of your comfort
zone? Go out of your way to meet people outside your social
circle and status to get exposed to new lifestyles, activities and
situations? And are you applying what you are learning to your daily
life? If you are continuously changing, developing, growing, and
doing things you haven’t done before, give yourself an “A”. Or if your life is largely on autopilot -- you're mostly going through the same routines, habits, games or life scripts -- give yourself
anything from a “B” to an “E”.
5. What existential position do you generally operate from? This is
a forced choice: pick only one. Don’t cop-out by rationalizing that you sometimes
operate from different positions in different situations. We all do. But what is your dominant mode? Click on
the next link for clarification. If you are a Proactor, give yourself an
“A”; “B” if you’re a Reactor; “C,” a Victim; and “D,” a Predator.
6. Getting optimum stimulation? An “A”
if you manage a satisfactory balance most of the time. A “B” to an “E” if you are
either over stimulated and feel stressed out, or under stimulated
and bored.
7. Are
you operating at your potential? Given your intelligence,
talents and capabilities as well as your physical condition,
“guess-estimate” at what percent of your potential you are
functioning? An “A” if you feel you are operating close to
your potential and “B” to an “E” if you’re not.
8. Your daily
life maintenance activities: Do they enhance and prolong or
shorten and diminish the quality and length of your life? If you
normally get sufficient sleep, eat healthily, keep stress down, do at least 45 minutes of
aerobic activities, have no more than 2 alcoholic drinks, and
your Body Mass Index (BMI)
is under 25 – give yourself an “A”. If you are stressed out, smoke, have 3 or more
drinks a day, your BMI is over 25, or participate
in other high-risk activities, give yourself a “B” to an “E”.
9. Finally, how
happy are you with your life and the location where you live? Is this how you would like to live for the rest of your life? An “A” if your life is an exciting, stimulating
adventure in an environment that feels like home. An “E” if it feels more like an exhausting, grinding,
endless struggle, and a “B” to an “D” if it’s something in
between.
10. Have you largely mastered the art of relationships?
If you have, give yourself an “A.” If you are in unsatisfactory, non-working or abusive relationships, or are seeking but haven't been able to sustain a lasting, vital, primary relationship, give yourself anything from a “B” to an “E." If you haven’t been able to establish and maintain healthy, intimate, fulfilling and lasting relationships with humans, but instead have become fixated on pets, give yourself a “D.”
To help you decide as to what changes you may like to make in your life, take another close look at the chapter summary
of Unlock Your Life for the tools you may need to make the changes. Using
the tools provided in Unlock Your Life and Cutting Loose, you should be able to make those changes effectively and painlessly.
If you have any
personal lifestyle questions, e-mail them to me at Ask the Lifestyle Expert.
If they are of general interest, I’ll respond to them in that column.
Al Louis Ripskis
Lifestyle Expert/SCORE
Counselor
Copyright
© 2009 Al Louis Ripskis All rights
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