Chapter 3: Assessment

Chapter 3: The Assessment. In order to figure out how to move forward, it's necessary to take a look at your current situation to find out what is working and what isn't. By breaking down your life into smaller, manageable pieces, it's much easier to see where you succeed and what is holding you back. In his book Essentialism, Greg McKeown wrote, Essentialism is not about how to get more things done. It's about how to get the right things done. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential. By focusing on what is essential and eliminating things that don't serve you, it becomes much easier to set achievable goals, create systems that work, and find success to keep you motivated. As you work through the questions in this chapter, take time to reflect on each of your answers before moving forward. At the end of the assessment, you will have all of the pieces needed to move forward through the rest of the workbook as you create a healthy mindset and a system that serves you in focusing your time and energy on accomplishing your goals. Reflect and celebrate. List 3 things that you have accomplished that you are proud of. What are 3 things you are currently thankful for? What are 3 things you have accomplished that you are proud of? What are 3 things that you have overcome in the past? What lessons did you learn about yourself through achieving those accomplishments and overcoming challenges? What lessons did you learn about others as you work to achieve those accomplishments, overcoming challenges? Part of having a healthy mindset is not only thinking about actions, but thinking about your thoughts and feelings. How did you feel when you reached those accomplishments? How did you feel when facing obstacles and challenges? Did you allow yourself to experience those feelings? Why or why not? Which of those feelings do you want to hold on to And which do you want to let go of? Set intentions. Think of 3 words that can be your guideposts as you move forward. Some examples that people have used in the past include healthy, intentional, confident, peaceful, bold, compassionate, strong. What are your 3 words that can be your guideposts as you move forward? Reframe and master mindsets. In order to change your mindset to a healthy mindset, you must first identify what your current mindset is. There are 2 types of mindsets: fixed mindsets and growth mindsets. People with fixed mindsets believe that their talents and abilities are set in stone, whereas people with growth mindsets believe that they can develop their talents and abilities through hard work, good teaching, and persistence. What mindset do you have? Fixed mindset: I have a certain amount of talent and ability, and I can't really do much to change it. Growth mindset: I can develop my talents and abilities through hard work, good teaching, and persistence. Which of the following best describes your current situation? I am in a rut and I don't see a way out. I have some goals that I would like to achieve, but I am not sure how to go about them. I am very happy with where I am in life, but there are always areas where I can improve. If you are in a rut and don't see a way out, it is essential to take a look at your current situation to find out what is working and what isn't. Once you have a better understanding of your current situation, you can begin to set goals and create a plan to achieve them. It is possible to have a fixed mindset in some areas in life and a growth mindset in others. Let's take a look at what your mindsets currently are. Here are some examples of fixed mindsets. When facing challenges, your inner voice says, there is no way I can do that. When facing failures, your inner voice says, I stink at sports. When facing conflicts, your inner voice says, I'm just a terrible person. When facing criticism, your inner voice says, I'll never be good enough. When facing mistakes, your inner voice says, I can't do anything right. Now, take some time to think about your mindsets for each situation. When facing challenges, what does your inner voice say? When facing failures, what does your inner voice say? When facing conflicts, what does your inner voice say? When facing criticism, what does your inner voice say? When facing mistakes, what does your inner voice say? You have a choice with what your inner voice says. As you think of your answers, are you happy with the way you talk to yourself? Is the way you talk to yourself healthy? Would you talk to someone else that way? It is possible to shift your mindset. It just takes training. It's no different than drills in practice, only you are focusing on the mental instead of the physical. Let's take those fixed mindsets and change them to growth mindsets. Look back at your answers and think how you can reframe each mindset. When facing challenges, you can reframe and say, I can learn to do that. Go for it. Make it happen. When facing failures, you can say: Everyone fails. Time spent learning is never wasted time. How can I approach this from a different angle? When facing conflicts, you can say: I don't always need to be right or included. Disagreements will happen, and that doesn't mean I am unloved or unwanted. I can listen and communicate better. When facing criticism, you can say: I am good enough, but there is always room for improvement. When facing mistakes, you can say, you can't grow without trying new things, and it's okay to mess up. What can I learn, and who can I ask for help? Now, it's your turn. Take your fixed mindsets and think about how you can change those mindsets to growth mindsets. When facing challenges, what is your growth mindset inner voice? When facing failures, what is your growth mindset inner voice? When facing conflicts, what is your growth mindset inner voice? When facing criticism, what is your growth mindset inner voice? When facing mistakes, what is your growth mindset inner voice? Trying to tackle all of your fixed mindsets at one time will not serve you well. You will be trying to tackle too many challenges at once, so pick the one mindset that you want to start working on and think about it. What actionable steps can you take to start challenging your mindset? For example, if you've chosen to work on your mindset when faced with challenges, you may decide to stop, realize that you can do it, and break the challenges into smaller steps. Identify and prioritize your values. The next step is to prioritize and identify your values. Some examples of values include family, relationships, personal growth, health, spirituality, creativity, mental health, loyalty, honesty, toughness, determination, courage, and generosity. What are 5 values that are important to you? Now let's rank those values in order of importance and reflect on how you currently act on those values. For example, health. You think, I've been consistent with workouts, but I don't make healthy food choices. Look at the rest of those values and reflect on how you currently act upon them. Now take some time to set up intentions to prioritize those values going forward. For example, with health, you say, I need to prepare healthy snacks ahead of time so they are as easy to grab as unhealthy choices. Do the rest with your other 4 values. You may want to go back to this assessment as we will refer back to it throughout the rest of the workbook. Being an athlete requires more than just physical training. It's important to have a healthy mindset as well. That's why I've executed to offer my Healthy Mindset for Athletes 30-day program. With this program, you'll receive targeted assessment, coaching, and motivation to help you reach your full potential. You'll also have access to the app for ongoing accountability. So if you're ready to take your game to the next level, sign up today and let's get started. Use the code COUPON1 to receive a 50% discount.