This week I volunteered at one of my daughters’ basketball practices while they did baseline testing.
The idea was pretty simple: Where are the athletes RIGHT NOW?
They tested different areas of their fitness: things like strength, speed, endurance and overall conditioning. Then, down the road, they’ll have something to compare their progress to.
And I absolutely LOVE this idea. In fact, I’d really like to do some of the testing myself!
Just not this week. 😂I’m currently fighting off a cold and trying my best to rest despite having a very full calendar. So for now, my body is getting rest when I can instead of fitness testing.
But watching the girls establish their baseline got me thinking about something that has absolutely nothing to do with basketball.
What if we established a baseline for our mental wellness, too?
A baseline isn’t a judgment
I think this is really important. Establishing a baseline isn’t about looking at your life and deciding you’re not doing well enough. And it isn’t about comparing yourself to someone else. And it definitely isn’t about finding everything that needs to be “fixed.”
A baseline is simply information.
It’s getting curious about where you are today so that you can make intentional choices about where you’d like to go next.
We tend to notice the big things. Like, we know when we’re completely exhausted, totally overwhelmed or desperately in need of a break.
But what about the slow changes?
Maybe your energy has gradually gone from an 8 to a 5. Maybe you’re feeling more overwhelmed than you were a few months ago. Maybe you’ve slowly stopped doing some of the things that used to fill your cup.
Nothing is necessarily wrong. But sometimes we get so busy living our lives that we don’t stop long enough to notice how we’re actually doing.
And I think that’s where a baseline can be really helpful.
Try your own mental wellness baseline
Grab a notebook, open the Notes app on your phone or just spend a couple of quiet minutes thinking about these questions (I find I always have much more clarity when I write with a pen & paper):
How would I rate my energy lately, from 1–10?
How overwhelmed do I feel on an average day?
Am I making time for things that genuinely fill my cup?
How well am I sleeping and recovering?
When something stressful happens, how easily am I able to reset?
Do I feel like I’m enjoying my life, or mostly just getting through my days?
There are no right answers, and there is definitely no perfect score. This is simply about noticing.
You don’t need to get to a 10
This is definitely my favourite part. Once you know where you are, you don’t have to immediately overhaul your entire life.
If your energy is currently a 5/10, you don’t need to figure out how to make it a 10.
What would make it a 6?
Maybe that means getting to bed a little earlier, or going outside for a walk, putting your phone down for half an hour, saying no to something you really don’t have time for. Getting back to something you LOVE that somehow disappeared from your schedule. For me that is hiking.
Or maybe you just need to ask for a little more help.
Small changes count.
In fact, they’re often the changes we’re actually able to stick with.
How will you know you’re making progress?
This is another reason I love the idea of a baseline. Sometimes we are making progress, but because change happens gradually, we don’t even notice it.
So write your numbers down, date them, and then come back in a few weeks or a month and ask yourself the same questions again.
Maybe your overwhelm went from an 8 to a 6. Maybe your energy moved from a 5 to a 7. Maybe you’re still busy, but you’re handling that busy season differently.
That matters.
Progress doesn’t always look dramatic.
Sometimes progress is simply feeling a little more like yourself again.
Your challenge this week
Take two minutes and choose 2-3 areas of your mental wellness that matter to you.
Give each one a score from 1-10 and write it down.
Then choose ONE area and ask yourself:
What could I do to move this up by just one point?
Not five points, and definitely NOT a complete life overhaul. Just one.
Because you don’t need to be unhappy with where you are to want to grow.
Sometimes it’s simply helpful to know where you’re starting.
And once you know your baseline, you’ll be much more likely to notice just how far you’ve come. 💕
I’d love to hear from you: What’s one area of your life you’d like to move up by one point right now?
Angela van Leeuwen
Certified Health & Life Coach
