Are You Willing To Give Yourself A Report Card?

Are You Willing to Give Yourself a Report Card?

Are you willing to give yourself a report card?

A report card that held you accountable to the things that really matter?

When Finley handed me her report card in the car today, she knew which section I was going to look at first.

Not math, reading, writing or science- it is the section about kindness, communication, respect and leadership.

That’s the area that predicts success in life. Success not being defined by the number of letters after your name or numbers on your bank statement. But by how you have lived a life of purpose, treated others and yourself.

Almost every night I give myself a report card- I grade myself on how well I’ve done in the areas of my life that I value most. It’s also an exercise I have included in my new leadership program for my clients this spring.

I promise you that my report cards in school were much nicer to look at than these are.

Gone are the days of straight As.

But that’s okay.

Because now I get to focus on living life, not just passing time- by focusing on what matters.

Athletes watch game film not to just see what went well, but to see what didn’t. To sit in the discomfort of watching oneself make mistakes takes courage and the desire to improve.

With my report card,I hold myself accountable, I face my mistakes, I watch where I fumbled the ball.

I don’t beat myself up- I get curious. I determine not just what went wrong but why. And I don’t allow any blame or excuses.

I don’t get hung up on the bad days here and there but if I can’t get above a C in an area for a few weeks- I know it’s time to give that area more attention.

When you watch the game film of your day, you also get to see those amazing plays that kept the day going- and give them the credit they deserve.

So are you willing to give yourself a report card?

“We should every night call ourselves to an account; What infirmity have I mastered today? What passions opposed? What temptation resisted? What virtue acquired? Our vices will abort of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift.” — Seneca

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About Becky

Becky Schmooke (pronounced “Smoke”) is a Mindful Leadership Consultant and Speaker, focused on providing action based mindfulness and leadership training to organizations and businesses who are ready to do things differently.

Becky’s Mindful Kitchen, is located outside of Iowa City, and provides truly unique team building and leadership retreats, strategic planning workshops, private parties and classes and weekly summer camps for kids. The commercial teaching kitchen, treehouse, archery range, bush craft skills, first aid training, wood fired pizza oven, chickens, baby goats and timber adventure playground provides endless opportunities for hands on activities.

As a mom to three girls, 60 chickens, 4 goats, 2 dogs and a fire fighter’s wife- life is never boring and provides Becky with endless stories which she uses to illustrate her approach to mindfulness in daily posts on social media.

In all that she does, Becky has one goal, to build confidence in others to take action to live their best life, not just pass time.