Introducing the Wheel Of Life

Why does your phone need to be turned off and on again every so often to work properly? 📱

I’ll be honest…I really don’t know.

But I do know that humans, strangely, need the same treatment – a bit of a reset.

So book a spa day, go for a hike, swim in the ocean. But do keep in mind, while that city break is a surefire way to get you feeling refreshed and energised, the life you return to will be the same one you left. The elements you needed to escape from won’t have changed.

The real trick is knowing which elements in your life are wearing you out.

The best way to do this? Take a spin at the Forward Wheel Of Life.

 

What is the Wheel Of Life?

Put simply; it’s an easy way of showing yourself how life is going.

But I know how life is going. I’m living it. Right?

Yes and no. It can be hard to see the big picture of your life when you’re standing two inches away from it.

Often we can’t see the forest for the trees. The 80+ years of your life is the forest, and yesterday, today, and tomorrow are the trees. It takes stepping back every so often to make sure you’re walking the right path.

In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller…

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”.

The Wheel Of Life is an exercise which translates how you’re feeling into a visually understandable format. Once it’s clearly laid out in front of you, it becomes easy to figure out which areas are going well and which ones need improvement.

 

                                                                                                                      Photo by Irina Iriser on Unsplash

When to do a Wheel Of Life

There are a couple of schools of thought…

When the calendar changes 📅

Some people prefer to do them on a regular basis like;

–         The end of every month

–         Every quarter

–         Every year

–         Every birthday (and half birthday)

This is particularly good if self-development is a top priority for you. If you like to break up the year and set goals for each time period, it’s a great way to start the reflection process and get the ideas flowing.

 

Or when life is getting a bit…same-y 🥱

I do one every time I feel something isn’t right.

I’m sure you know that discontent that creeps in when everything seems to be going okay, but you feel restless, and you don’t know why.

Quite often, the feeling is down to something seemingly insignificant like not having taken the bins out for a while, or you just can’t get that damn plant watering schedule quite right.

Sometimes though, it could run deeper; perhaps your job isn’t fulfilling those same needs it was a year ago? Maybe you’re not taking enough time for your friends and family? Maybe there simply isn’t enough fun in your life (cough* Ferris Bueller’s Day off *cough)?

Whatever it is, when you’re feeling discontented, take five minutes for a Wheel Of Life. It will help.

 

How do I do the Wheel Of Life?

It’s super easy. You can either print off this PDF or draw the circle yourself (I prefer the former because doing a “Squashed-Egg-Shape of Life” is fractionally less enjoyable.

And then…

1) Look at the wheel. Think about what fulfilment would mean for you in each category of your life.

2) Now rank your own current level of satisfaction against that ideal by scoring each segment: 1 for ‘very dissatisfied’ and 10 for ‘perfectly fulfilled’. (We recommend a pencil, because you may want to revisit your scores.)

3) Draw a line of your score across the segment and shade in that slice of pie.

4) When complete, you’ll have a graphic map of your life overall: what needs improving, what you can and cannot change, and what you’d like more (or less) of.

Completing it will take you between five minutes to five hours depending on how long it takes to find a pencil.

So grab a cup of your favourite something hot, find a quiet place, and reflect on life.

 

If you’re finding some areas of your life that are consistently scoring low, why not get in touch? We have over five years of experience helping young adults achieve their goals and reach success in their personal and professional lives. Give us a call at +44 (0) 2023 130 0295 or send an email to info@ylr.group.