When life is busy, or all your energy is focused on a special project, it’s all too easy to find yourself off balance, not paying enough attention to important areas of your life. While you need to have drive and focus if you’re going to get things done, taking this too far can lead to frustration and intense stress. That’s when it’s time to take a “helicopter view” of your life, so that you can bring things back into balance.
LIFE IS ABOUT BALANCE
Where is your life now? Where is it going? Where could it go?
WHY IT WORKS
How often do we reflect on the essentials?
This is where the Wheel of Life® (or Life Wheel) can help. Commonly used by professional life coaches, it helps you consider each area of your life in turn and assess what’s off balance. As such, it helps you identify areas that need more attention.
The Wheel of Life is powerful because it gives you a vivid visual representation of the way your life is currently, compared with the way you’d ideally like it to be. It is called the “Wheel of Life” because each area of your life is mapped on a circle, like the spoke of a wheel. The concept was originally created by Paul J. Meyer, founder of Success Motivation® Institute, Inc.
LET'S PLANT A SMALL SEED TODAY
And imagine what it can grow into in the future.
IT'S TIME TO TAKE ACTION
These are the areas of your life that need attention.
Now you have a visual representation of your current life balance and your ideal life balance. What are the gaps? These are the areas of your life that need attention.
And remember that gaps can go both ways. There are almost certainly areas that are not getting as much attention as you’d like. However there may also be areas where you’re putting in more effort than you’d ideally like. These areas are sapping energy and enthusiasm that may better be directed elsewhere.
Once you have identified the areas that need attention, it’s time to plan the actions needed to work on regaining balance. Starting with the neglected areas, what things do you need to start doing to regain balance? In the areas that currently sap your energy and time, what can you stop doing or reprioritize or delegate to someone else? Make a commitment to these actions by writing them on your worksheet.