What Matters/assessment

This assessment is designed to determine if you are spending your time on what matters most.

Completing the Questionnaire

Based on your understanding of each topic gained from completing the course, your estimate of the time and effort you devote to each topic area, and the importance you place on each topic, respond to each of the following items by assigning a number 1-5 based on the scale provided below that best reflects your agreement or disagreement with each statement. It may be helpful to refer to the corresponding topic in the course to refresh your memory on what was covered as you complete this assessment. The questions are organized to align with the course topics. The list of statements is broad-ranging and not every statement will apply to all age groups. Skip any statements that are not appropriate for your age.

This is a self-assessment instrument; there are no right or wrong answers. The more accurate and honest you are in answering the more valuable it will be to you.

Especially if you are completing this assessment before completing the course it is perfectly acceptable to move quickly through making your best judgment based on your general knowledge and understanding of each statement. If a topic is unfamiliar to you, it may be best to score it 3 or below as a reminder to explore this topic in more detail later.

It may be helpful to print out a copy of this page so you can write down your answers and study the results.

1 Surviving

Score each of the following statements 1-5 using the following scale:

• I get enough sleep.
• My physiological needs are fully met.
• My human rights are fully protected.
• My psychological needs of autonomy, competency, and relatedness are each fully met.
• I know what needs are currently met and which needs I am currently pursuing as described by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
• My survival is not jeopardized by unmet needs.

2 Thriving

Score each of the following statements 1-5 using the following scale:

• I am treated with dignity and respect.
• I treat all others with dignity and respect.
• My living space promotes my good health.
• I am physically healthy.
• I get regular exercise.
• I am physically fit.
• My wellness and vitality allow me to thrive physically.
• My emotions are usually positive.
• Often I am so engaged in work or other activities that I lose track of time.
• I have close and positive relationships with other people.
• I have a purpose in life that connects me with something meaningful beyond myself.
• My accomplishments are a source of genuine pride.
• I recognize, interpret, and respond constructively to emotions in myself and others.
• I enjoy spending time with family members.
• I am at peace with the members of my family.
• I am pleased with my marital status.
• I am pleased with my decision to have or not have children.
• I am a good parent to my children.
• My children are genuine a source of pride and joy.
• I am working to pass on a beneficial legacy including helpful traditions to my offspring.
• My mind is at peace.
• I am content.
• I am relaxed and not bothered by stress.
• I notice and take time to enjoy many sources of beauty in my life.
• I am curious and regularly enjoy learning new things.
• I have a well-developed theory of knowledge.
• I am good at solving problems.
• I have mastered a body of knowledge in some domain or discipline pertaining to my work.
• I have a dream.
• I know who I am and I live my own life.
• I have studied the virtues.
• I understand what the virtuous good is.
• I consistently strive toward that good.
• I typically resist temptation and overcome fear to act according to my well-chosen values.
• There are certain people I love.
• There are certain people who love me.
• I regularly enjoy safe sexual relations with my consenting adult partner.
• I have friends I care about and who care about me.
• I have developed a satisfying sense of spirituality.
• I am thriving and flourishing.

3 Recreation

Score each of the following statements 1-5 using the following scale:

• I spend adequate time playing and enjoying various forms of recreation.
• I do not spend too much time playing.
• I laugh enough.
• I make sufficient time to enjoy various pleasures.
• I don’t overindulge in pleasures to the detriment of other goals.
• I enjoy a healthy and satisfying balance of recreation in my life.

4 Success

Score each of the following statements 1-5 using the following scale:

• I have mastered one or more valuable skills
• I am able to apply my skills to satisfying work.
• People who know me and my work best think well of me.
• I am creative.
• I often have new and useful ideas.
• I have a satisfying outlet for my creativity.
• I am aware of the environmental impacts of my lifestyle
• I take steps to conserve resources and reduce my environmental impact.
• I am generally successful in my endeavors.

5 Significance

Score each of the following statements 1-5 using the following scale:

• I demonstrate my sincere concern for the welfare of others.
• I am impeccable with my word.
• I do what I say.
• I do my best.
• I have reviewed my own values and carefully chosen them.
• I live by a carefully chosen set of values.
• I engage with the people who make up various communities I am a part of.
• I feel I belong to those communities.
• I genuinely trust many of the people in the various communities I belong to.
• I evaluate decisions based on its global implications and long-term impacts.
• I am engaged in meaningful work.
• I have a positive impact and influence on others.

6 Transcendence

Score each of the following statements 1-5 using the following scale:

• I am generous.
• I enjoy helping others.
• I resolve conflicts and disputes without resorting to violence or coercion.
• I draw on my lifetime of experience and make decisions in the best long-term interest of all the humans impacted.
• I use the well-being of all humans as my primary basis for decision making.
• I am having a constructive and lasting impact on the world or universe at large.

7 Distractions and Dead Ends

Score each of the following statements 1-5 using the following scale:

• I am humble and concerned with others rather than selfish and self-centered.
• I am generous.
• I wield power only while exercising great responsibility.
• I am free of addictions such as tobacco use, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, gambling, unsafe sexual practices, eating disorders, etc.
• I cope readily and constructively with hatred, anger, vengeance, envy, jealousy, or unfounded fears as they arise.
• I am involved and engaged and rarely bored.
• I am not bothered or distracted by ego, greed, addictions, destructive emotions, or boredom.

Examine your answers to identify the lowest scores in the areas that mean most to you.

Work to improve in those areas. Review the associated topics in this course. Read more of the materials in the suggested reading list for those topics. Repeat the assignments in those topics with a deeper sense of commitment. Spend more time in these areas and less time on activities that matter less.