Living and learning: keeping score

I personally have found that keeping score of my life to be helpful. Don’t get me wrong I am not obsessive with this, rather I see it as a tool for occasional use to renew, reset and refocus. How do I keep score? Pretty simple, I use the same performance standards that I was graded when I was playing football in college, probably one of the few positive things I got from that experience.

It is simply three descriptors:

• – (minus)
• 0 (Zero)
• + (Plus).

A minus is poor, not up to standard. A zero is average, just good enough, nothing outstanding. A plus is very good, outstanding work, something you want to repeat.

Obviously, I would like to see all pluses, but that is not realistic. I have learned much from the minuses and zeros. The key is to take action and correct or reinforce in that area, possibly to dig deeper. I rate myself in the following broad areas of my life:

• Mental/Emotional
• Physical
• Health
• Spiritual
• Family
• Learning

Sometimes I only rate myself in one or two categories if I feel I need to focus better on that area. I have learned that just going through the process of grading gives me deeper insights on what I have done and what needs to be done. Ultimately for me is part of the growth process of getting better at getting better.