Your GPA -

As students head back to school I think about the GPA (grade point average).

Many students base their entire self-worth on this number, which is another subject entirely. I want to focus on how it can be useful even when we’re out of school.

The part I like about using this approach is the word ‘average’. That means it’s a cumulative number. A whole picture. An overview.

Too often we beat ourselves up because we’re terrible at one subject instead of looking at the entire picture.

You might be doing poorly with your health goals, but have created amazing friendships.

You might be failing in time management, but you’re great when dealing with your finances.

If you’re doing poorly in one subject you can take the steps to fix it, but never believe that because you’ve failed at something that you’re a total failure.

It’s important to rate yourself as the sum of many different things, not just one.