Balance Yourself With Your Life Wheel

The fall season is a time when things change. It’s also a good time to continue to get more balance in our work and life.

Have you seen the life balance wheel? You identify areas of your life important to you, and rate them anywhere from 0 to 10. All-encompassing balance can include areas like: finances, emotions, health, career, relationships, personal growth, community and recreation. The real importance of using this balance wheel is to identify areas in your own life that you value.

Pretend you are looking down at the life wheel and that each of these life areas represents a spoke on the wheel.

With the center of the wheel rating at zero or being totally dissatisfied, and the outer perimeter as a ten equaling total fulfillment, what level of satisfaction do you have with each life area?

As you look at your ratings you have ranked along each spoke of life, a new perimeter comes into focus which represents the balance of your life. How bumpy is your ride? Does it look and feel balanced? In a perfect wheel, you would have all tens, but life isn’t perfect. There are at least seven things to consider when you see your life wheel:

You can be so focused on one area of your life to the detriment of others. Does “all work, no play” sound familiar?

1. For the wheel, (your life), to turn smoothly, you have to have balance, not equality. Imagine the wheel turning with a 10 on your career spoke and a 4 on your family relationships. This would not be desirable as you’re placing too much emphasis on work and possible neglecting your family.

2. Finding balance is a continual process. Your focus can change from year to year and then as the wheel turns, the ride becomes smoother.

3. Use the life wheel to help you more clearly set priorities that bring more balance.

4. Consider what area(s) you need to do something differently in.

5. Find the one easiest thing you can do today to move you toward your ideal life and do it. Select another action in 30 days.

6. If your wheel is bumpy, consider professional coaching to help you create an action plan to move toward what you want.

Fall is a time to enjoy and celebrate life so what are you waiting for? Enjoy your continued renewal process to more life balance.