Wheel of Life - rate your life

Hi All,

In this spirit of renewal and growth, I’m excited to share with you some invaluable tools for goal-setting in 2024. I found these tools during the pandemic soul searching, and these resources are designed to help you articulate and achieve your aspirations, whether they’re personal, professional, or a mix of both. From practical tips on crafting achievable goals to innovative strategies to keep you motivated throughout the year, these tools are here to guide you on your journey to success in the new year.

So, grab a cup of your favorite winter beverage, settle in, and let's dive into the world of effective goal-setting. Here's to making 2024 a year of remarkable achievements and fulfilled dreams!

🎿 I. How to Check Your Life's Wheel

Many life/executive/performance coaches say: that for true happiness, it's not enough to focus on just a few areas out of these four crucial elements. A balanced approach is essential for living a fulfilling life.

You can assess your balance by using the 'Wheel of Life worksheet' (example below, but you can try to find on the internet the one that suits you best) to identify areas of strength and those that might be lacking. Here is the explainer on how to use it to reflect on your current life and plan for the ideal future.

👯Here is how I use it:

Using the Wheel of Life as a tool to assess and improve various aspects of your life can be an incredibly effective strategy. You are the CEO of your own life. Like #NapoleonHill, consider creating imaginary board members (your living/dead heroes) and you can treat this like a scorecard/report you use to update on the progress. Here's how you can do it:

1. Rate Each Pillar of Your Life: Start by dividing your life into key pillars - health, career, relationships, personal growth, finances, etc. For each pillar, rate your current satisfaction level on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 represents the ideal state you aspire to.
2. Envision Your Ideal State: Take some time to reflect on what a '10' looks like for each pillar. Be specific and realistic in your descriptions, considering what truly matters to you.
3. Develop Action Plans: Identify the gaps between your current state and your ideal state. Come up with three key actions for each pillar to bridge these gaps. These actions should be concrete, achievable, and aligned with your long-term goals.
4. Resource Assessment: Determine what resources you need to implement these actions. This could include time, money, skills, or support from others.
5. Habit Formation: Consider what daily, weekly, or monthly habits you need to develop to support your action plans. Habit formation is crucial in making consistent progress.
6. Anticipate and Prevent Pitfalls: Knowing yourself, think about potential obstacles and how you can avoid or overcome them. This might involve setting up systems to keep yourself motivated or avoiding environments that lead to unproductive behaviors.
7. Prioritize and Focus: You can't do everything at once. Identify your top three priorities for the year and focus your energy there.
8. Create a Vision Board: Visualize your goals and action plans. A vision board can be a powerful tool to keep you inspired and focused.
9. Establish a Routine: Incorporate visualization, morning affirmations, and scribing into your daily routine. This #miraclemorning type of routine can help keep you aligned with your goals.
10. Accountability and Check-ins: Have accountability buddies or, at a minimum, schedule regular self-check-ins (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly) to monitor your progress.
11. Annual Review and Adjustments: Repeat this exercise yearly, adjusting as necessary. Remember, progress is often not linear but exponential. There will be times when it seems like little is changing, but the compounding effect of small, consistent actions can lead to significant results over time.

By following these steps, you can make meaningful progress toward your goals and create a fulfilling and balanced life. Remember, the key is consistent action and self-reflection.

🏄 II. How to Use the Wheel of Life / What to Look Out For

When completing the Wheel of Life, coaches recommend following this sequence: 

Health → Economy (finances and career) → Relationships → Contribution → Happiness.

This order generally reflects how the wheel fills up. It's natural to want to achieve abundance and happiness quickly by advancing all areas simultaneously. However, paradoxically, focusing on one area at a time and progressing in order is the most effective strategy. Start with your health and economic situation (finances and career) and move clockwise from there.

1. Personal Financial Status (Money & Finance)

• Am I satisfied with my financial status?
• Am I satisfied with my spending habits?
• Am I satisfied with my income?
• Is my income adequate for achieving my dreams?
• What is my mindset towards money?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Personal Financial Status' section.
• What does true abundance mean to you? You can say you are 'truly abundant' when you score the highest in all categories of the Wheel of Life.

2. Career and Mission/Work

• Does my job contribute to my growth?
• Do I enjoy working?
• What is my mindset when going to work?
• How do I feel when I achieve results at work?
• Does my current job align with my dreams or mission?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Occupation and Mission' section.
• We fulfill our dreams through our jobs. Furthermore, our jobs enable us to carry out our life's mission.

3. Health and Fitness (Muscle Condition) 

• Do I exercise regularly?
• Do I enjoy exercising?
• How is my health condition?
• What is my physical condition in daily life?
• How does my work relate to my physical fitness?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Healthy and Fitness' section. Without a healthy body, the rest of the aspects in the Wheel of Life can collapse like dominos. Another reason health is crucial is that when our physical muscles weaken, our mental muscles do too.

4. Fun and Recreation

• Do I take time to relax for myself every day?
• When are the happiest moments for me - at certain events, gatherings, or during particular activities?
• When do I think to myself, "Wow, I am living an enjoyable life"?
• What interests me the most?
• What activities bring me the most joy?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'An Interesting and Fun Life' section.
• Fun and excitement are essential elements of life and success. When you are excited and enjoying what you do, it radiates to those around you.
• Try to find joy and excitement in your daily life. Whatever it is, you can always make it more fun. "Ah, this is going to be so much fun!! Right?" "Wow, today's going to be exciting and fun!! Right?"
  

5. Relationships with Loved Ones

• Do I spend quality time with my loved ones?
• Are my loved ones satisfied with our relationship?
• What am I doing for my loved ones?
• How am I trying to balance work and family to catch both 'rabbits'?
• Do my loved ones support me in achieving my dreams?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Intimate Relationships with Loved Ones' section.
• What is your 'relationship' score? If you think the relationship with those around you, especially your loved ones, scores a certain point, think about what is necessary and what is unnecessary to achieve the desired good relationship score.

6. Family and Friends

• Do I spend quality time with my family/friends?
• Are my family/friends satisfied with our relationship?
• How often do I communicate and meet with my family/friends?
• How dependable am I to my family/friends?
• How happy am I when I am with my family/friends?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Family and Friends' section.
• The most successful people often regret not spending enough time with their loved ones before they die. No matter how strong, talented, abundant, or respected you are, life is meaningless without dedicated family and friends to share it with.

7. Continuous Growth

• How much time do I invest in personal development?
• Do I have a daily routine for my success? If so, am I following it well?
• For continuous growth, do I persistently engage in activities?
• Am I pursuing growth that is not just individual but collective?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Continuous Growth' section. "Growth equals dreams, and dreams equal happiness; therefore, growth is happiness."

8. Social Contribution (Donation/Philanthropy)

• Am I contributing to society?
• What am I doing to help others?
• Am I engaging in activities that help others grow?
• Am I doing something beneficial for society and people?
• What am I doing to save the environment?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Social Contribution (Donation)' section.
• Life is about contributing and giving back. Ask yourself from time to time: What can I contribute right now? What should I be contributing? What does this situation need from me? Contributing to society can be as simple as donating a small amount of money. Donating your talents can tremendously aid someone else's personal development. A bit of your time can be an unforgettable help to someone else. Instead of waiting for later, start with what you can do right now. For most people, the timing of 'later' never comes. Success isn't about contributing and donating after you've made it; it's about the energy of the entire world coming to you because you contribute and donate. It will come back to you many times over.

9. Emotional Health (Happiness Index)

• How happy am I emotionally at the moment?
• In what situations do I feel emotionally happy?
• What actions or efforts do I make to transition from difficult and depressing situations to happy ones?
• How much does my emotional happiness depend on external environments?
• Do I have a routine that I strictly follow to remain continuously happy?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Emotional Health (Happiness Index)' section.

10. Spiritual Health (Peace of Mind)

• Do I practice visualization?
• Am I doing something to ensure my soul is healthy and my mind is at peace?
• How do I achieve peace of mind when I feel confused?
• How much does my spiritual health (peace of mind) depend on external environments?
• Do I have a routine that I strictly follow to maintain my peace of mind?
• Reflect on these questions and assign a score to the 'Spiritual Health (Peace of Mind)' section.
• Dedicate some time every day to focus on your spiritual health and peace of mind. Regardless of religious beliefs, focus on maintaining your peace of mind and the peace of the world. Spiritual health helps us maintain a balanced perception of our physical, psychological, and social evaluations. Despite the noise of the world, we should manage our minds to maintain a healthy spirit and peace of mind, being less disturbed by external stimuli.