In grade school, we are always taught to study for the test. To do whatever it takes to get an A. We might need to pull an all-nighter to get the essay completed or spend hours upon hours memorizing definitions.
All of this was done for an external scorecard (report card). However, as soon as you exit school and enter the “real world” there no longer is a report card. Nobody is going to tell you what you have to do to get an A.
Most of the time you’ll have no clue if you’re doing A work or C work (you’ll know if you’re doing F work…).
The only thing that matters, and the only thing that’ll propel you forward, is creating an internal scorecard. This scorecard grades yourself on specific categories: Follow-through, attitude, attention to detail, happiness and communication.
If you rate yourself on those five categories and judge each interaction or decision based on how the action affects your scorecard, you can quickly internalize where you’re going and figure out what matters.
The problem is, we often look for external reinforcement. We want people to see us, respect us, praise us. But that’s not what matters. What matters is knowing what you’re doing and how it’s affecting you.
Your internal scorecard is greater than any report card you’ve ever received.