HOW THE WHEEL OF LIFE ACTIVITY CAN BRING BALANCE TO YOUR LIFE

Areas of the wheel of life

Self-Care is more than having a bubble bath or a face mask, though those things can be nice!

There are 6 areas of life that need attention in order for you to feel rested and fulfilled. This idea was originally coined by Paul Meyer and included: financial and career, mental and educational, physical and health, social and cultural, spiritual and ethical and family and home.

While these are the original 6 areas of life, you can customise the wheel to include the areas that reflect your values and most impact your life. For example: family, learning, adventure, personal growth, physical and health, and career and financial. It is important that your wheel of life reflects your values.

How to use the wheel of life

In each section of the wheel of life, you can rate how satisfied you feel in each area and then look for ways to improve that area of your life. For example; you may feel like you are very satisfied in your career and financial state so you would rate it at a 10. However, you are not at all satisfied mentally and have been feeling quite anxious lately. You have been neglecting your mental health and feel burnt out so you rate this section at a 1.

The wheel of life is a great visual exercise to see what areas of your life you are currently feeling good about, and what areas you are struggling with.

Examples

Once you have this visual, you can start looking at why you feel you are lacking in some areas, and how you may improve this. For example, you rate spiritual at a 3 because you have been too busy to meditate. Start to schedule meditation into your calendar again as an appointment so it has priority.

Another example could be that you feel like you are fulfilled in education and are very passionate about your degree or course. But, learning all the material, going to the classes and completing assignments has left you feeling overwhelmed and stressed. You could make a list of your favourite activities and schedule in at least one time each week to do an activity that you enjoy and de-stress.

It can be overwhelming to look at all of these areas and you may start to think that there is too much to do when you are already so busy. Remember, it is best to start small and start with one thing that you want to improve at a time. If you improve by 1% every day that is 365% a year.

This post was all about how the wheel of life is an important activity to regularly complete. The wheel of life gives a visual representation of the areas of your life that you are currently thriving in, and the areas that need more attention. This activity is essential to bring more balance to your life.