How Am I Doing? (12 Questions)
By Shlomo Maital

Dr. Tyler J. VanderWeele is a Harvard epidemiologist and biostatistics professor. He has developed a simple questionnaire to help us evaluate a core question, highly relevant as we emerge from over a year of pandemic lockdown and isolation:
How am I doing?
We hear about loneliness, isolation, stress, depression, and, a relatively new concept, languishing – people who are not depressed but who are not flourishing. *
So – how are you doing? Are you flourishing? Try these questions. They are scored 1-10, but, I prefer just to give the raw questions, as food for thought, without the need to score. You can look up the real thing on the Human Flourishing Program website.
https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/measuring-flourishing
Domain 1: Happiness and Life Satisfaction.
1. Overall, how satisfied are you with life as a whole these days?
2. In general, how happy or unhappy do you usually feel?
Domain 2: Mental and Physical Health.
3. In general, how would you rate your physical health?
4. How would you rate your overall mental health?
Domain 3: Meaning and Purpose.
5. Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
6. I understand my purpose in life.
Strongly agree? Strongly disagree?
Domain 4: Character and Virtue.
7. I always act to promote good in all circumstances, even in difficult and challenging situations.
Always? Often? Rarely?
8. I am always able to give up some happiness now for greater happiness later.
Always? Often? Rarely?
Domain 5: Close Social Relationships.
9. I am content with my friendships and relationships.
Very? Somewhat? Hardly?
10. My relationships are as satisfying as I would want them to be.
Domain 6: Financial and Material Stability.
11. How often do you worry about being able to meet normal monthly living expenses?
12. How often do you worry about safety, food, or housing?
A lot? A little?
So in general, how are you doing? Are you flourishing? What in your life could you change, relatively quickly, that would give you stronger ‘flourishing’ answers?
Worth a shot?
- Cited in Dani Blum’s NYT article, Friday May 7, p. 12, “how to thrive on the other side”.
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