It’s common to feel an imbalance in our life, especially when we are filled with so many different emotions, desires, aspirations, and goals. We will often find ourselves giving too much time to one area of our life, while neglecting other aspects of our life.
This imbalance can leave us confused and can prevent us from achieving that sense of fulfillment we are all after. Many people don’t realize that neglecting one area of your life will eventually have a negative effect on every area of your life.
Knowing how to not only detect this imbalance, but properly achieve a solution to the imbalance can help get you back on track sooner rather than later. Luckily for us, there’s a very effective tool that can help.
What is the Wheel of Life?
The Wheel of Life is a tool used by many life coaches and therapists as a way of finding the imbalance in your life, but it can be utilized by anyone. The wheel represents our life as a whole, with ourselves as the center.
The wheel is made up of all the things that are most important to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being — the things that make us who we are. For many, this will include the following life aspects:
- Career
- Financials
- Personal Growth
- Spiritual Fulfillment
- Romance and Love
- Physical Health
- Relationships
- Fun and Enjoyment
- Community and Charity
By identifying the things that make us who we are, we can find out a variety of things. Maybe you want to figure out where you value your time or where you’re having the most success. More commonly, people use the Wheel of Life to delegate where they are happy with themselves and where they’re lacking fulfillment.
Utilizing the Wheel of Life
The Wheel of Life is a way for us to constantly monitor the balance — or lack thereof — in our lives.
In this example, let’s say Brian is unhappy with where he is in life and wants to find out why. First, we can draw out the Wheel of Life and break it up into the 9 categories listed above. Brian can then go through each category and rate from 1-10 how satisfied he is with that aspect of his life.
By the time Brian’s done, he will have a clear look at where he’s most happy. Likewise, he can also see areas where he can improve and find happiness.
Let’s say it was his career that he rated as the least satisfied with. By focusing a little more attention to making work fun and finding ways to enjoy it, Brian can start to alleviate that imbalance.
On the other hand, let’s say Brian rated everything about the same — he wasn’t super happy or super unhappy anywhere, just neutral. This could be a sign of a bigger issue that’s affecting every area of Brian’s life.
The Wheel of Life can be an essential and effective tool for anyone to use. If you feel like you’re missing something in life, take control of your life and map out what you need to do to get better.