Describe cards can be adapted to address many situations. Sometimes this means a simple adjustment to one of the included activities, other times it can mean creating something entirely new. Here’s an example of an activity I’ve added to the instructions since Describe was first published.

Self-Esteem and Self-Awareness
People dealing with self-esteem issues are often dealing with a perceptual challenge. Their low sense of self-esteem comes from how they feel they “don’t measure up” either to others or to the image of who they think they should be. It can be the case that they haven’t been prioritizing their choices well. What I’ve found to be true most often, however, is that they aren’t giving themselves proper credit and/or are basing their conclusions on faulty assumptions or perceptions.

Following is an activity I use to help a person form a more solid, evidenced-based picture of themselves. This can be engaged in by an individual, with a counselor/coach, or adapted to a group setting. To be clear, this activity can be used by anyone wishing to improve their awareness of self.

This activity, along with a dozen other games and activities, can now be found in the online instructions for Describe!


Who Do You Want To Be?
Step One – Choose five or six Describe cards that complete the picture of the person you are striving to be. (For example, someone might choose: Friendly, Strong, Wise, Talented, and Thankful to Describe the person they want to be)

What Does It Mean To Be That Person?
Step Two – Explore what it means to be this “ideal person”. What does it mean to be “Friendly”? What does one have to do to be “Strong”? What behaviors does a person display to be thought of us “Thankful”? The Describe cards themselves contain many questions that can help guide this exploration.

How Do You Measure Up?
Step Three – Now that you’ve defined what it means to be your “ideal person”, how do you measure up? Do you meet your definitions of the words you chose? Are you engaging in the behaviors that make you that kind of person? What are your strengths in these areas? What are your opportunities for improvement?

What Now?
Step Four – Create an action plan based on your conclusions in step three. It can be as simple as continuing to foster your strengths while incrementally improving in other areas. Get specific. What things will you do to be a more Thankful person, for example.

By completing this activity, a person can increase their self-awareness and become more focused on working toward the person they want to be, instead of comparing themselves to others. I’ve often found this helps people realize they already are well on the way to being that person and simply haven’t been giving themselves credit!

Using Describe cards to complete the activity makes it easier for the person to find the correct words. Instead of struggling to come up with just the right ones, they can choose them from the deck!

This and over a dozen other activities, interventions, and games can be used with Describe cards. Stay tuned for more activities and games for Describe!  Have you come up with a new way to use Describe? I’d love to hear about it!

Rob Reinhardt
Creator of Describe

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