The Wheel of Life is a common life coaching tool which is used as an easy way to take stock of
your life as it is today; to show you where your life is 'out of balance', and the areas where you
want to focus on improving. Follow the steps below to start making positive changes in your life
today.
1. Draw a circle and divide it into 8 equal parts like the diagram above. Alternatively print a
pdf of the diagram above or right-click and copy/print.
2. Label each of these parts for different areas of focus in your life. How you label them is
up to you, as you are the expert on the priorities in your life. A possible list could be:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Health/Fitness
Home/Family
Relationships
Work/Career
Personal Finances
Social Life/Interests
Community/Environment
Other topics could include:
o
o
o
Creativity
Organisation/Time Management
Personal Development
What's important is that the labels describe the different areas of your life as you see it.
You could also divide your circle into 6, or 10 if need be. For many people, 8 is a good
number of areas to work with.
3. Along the 'spokes' for each topic, put a large dot to represent how satisfied you are with
that area. Use a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is at the centre of the wheel, and 10 is on the
rim.
4. When you've completed this for all of the areas you identified, join up the dots. How
smooth is the line? Does your life look 'in balance', or does it guarantee a bumpy ride?
What areas are you already very happy with/grateful for? Which need your attention?
5. For each area of your life, list 3 things you are grateful for, or are happy with. It's
important not just to look at what's missing, but also at what you already have.
For many people, this shift in perception can help them realise things aren't as bad as
they may think, in certain areas of their lives. If you really can't think of 3 things to be
grateful for, then you've an ideal opportunity to improve matters!
6. Now pick 2 or 3 areas where you'd most like to bring about improvement. For each area,
think about what it is you want to achieve. What does 'success' in this area mean to you?
For example, in work/career, is it security? Or flexibility? Financial success or
meaningful work? (These aren't mutually exclusive, of course.)
To bring about 'success' in your life, it's crucial that you know from the outset, what that
looks like for you. You can change your definition at various points in your journey, but
at each stage, you need to know where you're headed.
Most importantly, write down your goals! Much scientific research has been carried out
which suggests that people who write down their goals are more likely to be successful,
in many areas of their life, than those who don't.
7. For each of these 2 or 3 areas you've identified, list 3 action steps you can take today or
tomorrow to bring you closer to your goal. For example, if 'health & fitness' is your area
of focus, you might put the following 3 steps:
o
Start a food & drink diary
o
o
Make an appointment with your GP to discuss an ongoing healthy-eating or exercise
plan
Drink 6-8 glasses of water each day
Take Action
Now that you've an action plan in place, take action each day to bring you closer to where you
want to be. If you can do something easily today, don't wait until tomorrow. If an action step
seems too big or unmanageable, break it down into smaller chunks. Always ask yourself 'what
can I do today to improve this area'?
As you progress, you can repeat the exercise to check how you're doing, and to remind yourself
how far you've come. And remember to congratulate yourself on your progress! Many of us are
better at focusing on our failures than on applauding ourselves for our successes. This sort of
'modesty' does us no good; you don't need to take out an advert in the local paper every time you
reach one of your goals, but by all means do a private victory dance around your own living
room.
Perhaps close the curtains first, though.
Enjoy the process!