Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Satisfaction with life

The Satisfaction With Life Survey is a short, 5-item instrument designed to measure global cognitive judgments of one's lives.

1. ____ In most ways my life is close to my ideal.

2. ____ The conditions of my life are excellent.

3. ____ I am satisfied with my life.

4. ____ So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.

5. ____ If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

  • 7 - Strongly agree
  • 6 - Agree
  • 5 - Slightly agree
  • 4 - Neither agree nor disagree
  • 3 - Slightly disagree
  • 2 - Disagree
  • 1 - Strongly disagree
If I answer truthfully and not idealistically to these, I'd do the following:
no. 1--slightly agree
no. 2--strongly agree
no. 3--agree
no. 4--agree
no. 5-- agree

The last statement about having to live my life over and doing it the same is a tough one because nothing has been ideal nor has anything been really horrible. It has been living life on life's terms and dealing with it. When I first thought about it, I believed that there are some things that I would change: being more prudent in my choices about relationships, working a 12 step program earlier in life, realizing that I could be satisfied with who I am without having to depend on someone else. I don't think of these as regrets necessarily but just what would have made life an easier path. On the flip side though is my gratitude for getting to where I am now. And that wouldn't have happened without the hard knocks in life or the experiences that I've had.

The following quote sums up my satisfaction with life:
"Never let me imagine that my satisfaction with life depends on what someone else may do"(ODAT in Al-Anon pg 234).

How do you rate your satisfaction with life?

9 comments:

  1. I guess my life hasnt had the ideal path but in the words of John Lennon, Life happens when you are busy making other plans.
    Everything that happens is usually an oportunity in disguise

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  2. Syd, your 'comment' on my blog this Wednesday...raised my #5 'up' to "agree". Bless you!

    Thank you, God, for Alanon (Anna is a four-year Alanon!) and boy, she STILL puts up--seemingly happy--with a lot of my junk.

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  3. oh i love the closing quote. well worth remembering.

    and here the dreamer in me came through again, cause for the last question (if i could live my life over, i would change almost nothing) i would of course change my life right back to my parents behaviour too, and that is NOT what is asked there, is it....

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  4. I probably would answer "agree" to all but the last one. I understand that where I am at today is where I am suppose to be at. However and it is a big however, there are some things I would change.

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  5. I would answer agree to all of these items. Interesting list.

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  6. Syd, it says would you change ALMOST nothing.Sure, to be alive is to want to change something in the past, but for me it is ALMOST nothing I would change.

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  7. I don't think I would rate my life very high; however, I do like that last quote. Food for thought.

    Unfortunately, I am a glass half empty kind of girl. I used to pride myself on being honest and real. Not so sure if these are good qualities when I have such a negative view of life. Maybe that will change.

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  8. I think it's extremely difficult to be satified, and yet, to be happy, you start with exactly that. Quit asking for more and do more.

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  9. TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
    And sorry I could not travel both
    And be one traveler, long I stood
    And looked down one as far as I could
    To where it bent in the undergrowth;

    Then took the other, as just as fair,
    And having perhaps the better claim,
    Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
    Though as for that the passing there
    Had worn them really about the same,

    And both that morning equally lay
    In leaves no step had trodden black.
    Oh, I kept the first for another day!
    Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
    I doubted if I should ever come back.

    I shall be telling this with a sigh
    Somewhere ages and ages hence:
    Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
    I took the one less traveled by,
    And that has made all the difference.

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Let me know what you think. I like reading what you have to say.