This week the NFL Combine displays some of the most incredible athletes in the world. This group of athletes are mentally and physically put to the test in the hope they grow their draft stock for the upcoming NFL Draft. Physical tests such as the 40-yard dash or seeing how many times they can bench press 225lbs. all the way to cognitive tests to assess a player’s decision-making ability.

General managers, scouts, coaches, and many more are all crowded around to see who they believe is worthy of being drafted and receiving potentially millions of dollars to help elevate their team. Now most of us won’t be putting up crazy numbers like a 4.20 40-yard dash or bench pressing 225lbs. 40 times, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our own unique tests to every once in awhile challenge ourselves.

Today, let’s do our own version of a combine – the Growth Combine. A test for us to pause and see how we’d assess ourselves in our approach to growth. The questions below serve as ideas to see where we’re crushing our growth journey along with where some opportunities for growth are. There’s no general manager sitting around waiting to give us millions of dollars after working through this assessment – only the incredible benefit that comes with acknowledging where you should be extremely proud of how you approach growth along with key insights to where that growth can keep coming from.

Which question are you most proud of and which question do you see your opportunity to grow the most in?

Do I spend sufficient time reflecting and creating holistic awareness of what’s happening?

Too often we are telling ourselves an incomplete story because we’re fixated on struggle or failure. Make sure the view of how we’re looking at ourselves and the outside world is from a holistic lens.

Do I surround myself with people that want to support my growth journey?

We can all use Accelerators along our journey to propel us forward.

Am I dedicating sufficient time to giving gratitude to myself and others?

It’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of life. Combine the craziness of life with all the outside noise constantly bombarding our minds, it’s critical to step away and give ourselves and others the deserved gratitude.

Do I prioritize my growth over distractions that can suck my time and energy?

Your time and energy are limited. Spend it in alignment with your priorities and don’t sacrifice the importance of your growth journey for the endless distractions out there.

Am I approaching challenges and struggles as an opportunity to learn, grow, and become stronger for the future?

Struggle is inevitable and if we push ourselves to grow, we cannot avoid challenges. When faced with struggles and challenges we must come with a learner mindset to find meaning from these moments.

Is my self-talk honest and optimistic?

How we speak to ourselves is critical in our growth journey. There will be plenty of peaks and valleys and how we coach ourselves through this by being honest and optimistic about the future can have a big impact how we approach taking our next step forward.

Do I approach conversations with curiosity?

The opportunity to learn is infinite, especially from the Accelerators we encounter. The difficult part is we naturally are anchored to truths of the old. The world is constantly changing, and we must be ready to seek other perspectives through curiosity to continue to evolve.

Is the food that I’m eating and movement I’m getting with my body aligned with my health and wellness goals?

We each have our own unique health and wellness goals. For our mind to be in prime shape to keep our growth journey going, the health of our body is a key propellant. Keeping our body fed with good nutrients and being active does wonders for continuing to push our growth journey forward.

The number one benefit from the Growth Combine is investing time reflecting on your own growth journey. It’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of each day and keep your head down focused only on your next task. We need moments to zoom out and reflect on how our journey is going and where we want our journey to go.

We must be honest with ourselves and identify where we’ve excelled along with areas where we want to elevate our approach. Our growth journey is little tweaks here and there to continue to stay on our authentic path and push ourselves to see what our next impact can be.

Take your step: identify one of these questions you see as an opportunity for growth. Reflect on what’s holding you back and then work through identifying 1-2 changes you can make to take a step forward towards where you want to grow.