Thinking about what matters to me

All our lives can be better if the people we spend time with know us well. Do the people closest to you understand what makes you happy, or what really frustrates you?

If you have people who help you out or are paid to support you, you and they will find it very useful to have a summary of what’s important to you, and how you want to be supported.

You can give this thinking tool to anyone in your life that you’d like to know more about you. In a few minutes they can find out what matters most to you and how they can best help you.

How to use the One-page profile

First, think about the things that matter to you most:

• Think about your favourite things in life. How do you like to spend your time? What places do you like to go? What are your hobbies and interests?
• What don’t you like, what annoys you or makes you miserable? What don’t you want to happen?
• How do you celebrate your faith or culture?
• What does a great weekend or week look like for you? What makes it great?
• What about food and drink? What are your favourites? Who would you share them with?
• Are there routines you must have in your life? For example, do you like to start your day the same way every day? Is there a TV programme you never miss? Is there music you always listen to if you feel down?

Now think about how you’d like to be supported:

• What do people need to know about how you like things done?
• How can they help you to do the things that matter most to you?

Finally, here’s something you may find quite hard. What do people like or admire about you? If you don’t know, here are some prompts:

• What would your family or best friends say that they appreciate about you?
• What do people compliment you for?

If you don’t know, how about asking people who are close to you?

Write all of this down on your One-page Profile.

• My One-page Profile

Next steps

Now that you’ve thought about what’s important to you and how you want to be supported, you can think about how much of what matters is actually happening in your life, and whether you are being supported in ways that work well for you. You can do this on the Thinking About What I Want To Change page.

• Thinking About What I Want To Change