Happiful September 2020

Wheel of life
If you’re feeling unsatisfied with key areas of your life, then this special
coaching tool could be the perfect thing to help you reassess and rebalance
Writing | Kat Nicholls
When was the last time
you took a step back
and evaluated how
content you’re feeling
with life in general? Maybe you’re
struggling in your career, or your
health is worrying you. Whatever
the issues are, they can build
slowly, knocking you off balance,
and having a profound impact
on your wellbeing. But taking a
moment to look at your life as a
whole can help you identify the
areas that need attention to bring
you back into balance.
What is the wheel of life tool?
By plotting how satisfied we
are with each area of our life as
spokes on a wheel, we can create
a visual representation of how
happy we are. Connecting the
dots to form a circle helps us
to see quickly and easily where
we’ve lost balance, and recognise
which areas need work.
The original concept was
created by Paul J Meyer, and
today different variations of
the wheel are used by coaches
and those in the personal
development space. But this is
the great thing about the wheel
– it’s versatility. You can pick
whatever areas of your life are
most important to you, and even
go deeper with separate wheels
for different areas. For example, if
you’ve noted that your family life
needs attention, you could create
a dedicated wheel to help you drill
down further.
How to use the wheel of life tool
If you’re ready to take a bird’seye
view of your life, follow our
instructions to have a go on the
template wheel.
1. Pick your life areas
Choose which areas you want to
look at. Need a little inspiration?
Here are some ideas:
• Relationships
• Career
• Parenting/family
• Physical health
• Mental health
• Finances
• Personal development
• Fun/recreational activities
• Home
• Spirituality
These are just some ideas, so
pick the areas that feel most
relevant to you right now, and
then name each spoke.
2. Assess your life areas
Rate each area of your life on a
scale from 0–10. If everything in
that area is perfect, it’s a 10, but
if there’s work needed, it’ll score
lower. Take time with this step,
and really consider how much
attention you’re currently giving
each area. Mark your scores on
each spoke with a dot or cross.
3. Connect the dots
Simply connect the dots to form
your circle. How does it look?
Can you see where your balance
may be off?
4. Consider your ideal score
for each area
While many of us may want to
achieve a perfect score of 10 in
32 • happiful.com • September 2020