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The Water Scale

A more meaningful way to describe life.

How often do you get asked How’s it going? Or, how are you doing?

99% of the time the answer is “good” - a one-dimensional answer that’s so common, it’s almost meaningless. In fact, if you say “OK”, it’s often followed up by “Is something wrong?” So the expected response, “good”, is a formality to confirm the status quo, and move on. 

I hereby propose an alternative “water scale" for describing your state in life. It stems from the familiar expression, “sink or swim”, conveying not just a fixed status, but also your trajectory and state of mind.

Let's see how it works by answering "How are you doing?" for a few scenarios.

• "Sinking" implies you're currently struggling, overwhelmed by responsibilities, and unable to keep up (think chronic stress at work, financial hardship, or relationship conflicts). You are being pulled underwater.
• "Swimming" invokes the opposite - you're clearly in control of where you're going and making progress (for example, acing a new role at work, or making strides in a fitness routine). The water flows easily around you.
• What does the usual "good" translate to on this scale? It could be “swimming” but it may also be "treading water" - doing fine, but expending continuous effort to stay there, maybe barely keeping up. Or "floating" - doing well, but coasting along with ease. Those labels reveal much more than a reflexive "good," don't they?
• My favorite term is “diving”. It implies going deep - whether it’s intentionally venturing into the unknown, taking a risk, learning a new skill, or going through a temporary hardship. But it’s a temporary state; you expect to resurface.

You can get creative with combining terms and inventing new analogies (any surfers out there?). But the core concept is conveying a vector - both your current state (height relative to the water) and direction (trajectory through the water). I’ll round out the basics of this scale and leave the rest as an exercise for the reader to personalize.

The Water Scale:

Drowning - You are in a dire situation spiraling out of control and need outside help.

Sinking - You are overwhelmed and falling behind on responsibilities.

Treading - You are working hard just to maintain your current status quo.

Floating - You are coasting along happily but could be affected by changing tides.

Swimming - You are thriving, in control, and making steady progress.

Racing - You are excelling, pushing yourself to your limits, and moving rapidly ahead.

Diving - You are venturing into new territory, taking a risk, learning a new skill, or coping with a temporary challenge.

Surfacing - You are coming up for air, recovering after a stressful period.

Try it out! Use the water scale to answer "How are you doing?" in major life domains, and see if it aligns with your instincts.

• How’s your social life? Making new connections or enjoying the company of good friends?

• How’s school/work? Crushing your projects, or cramming to get stuff done on time?

• How’s the family? Healthy and happy or dealing with some hardship?