| It’s only been 11 days. Is there anyone not planning at this point in the year? I know, it can all be a bit overwhelming, but we’re talking about a new decade. Last week we planned out the next four weeks. How did that go? Are you on track? When you are planning don’t forget to include some things that bring joy to your life. I truly hope you’re well on your way to a more joyful January. Here’s something for you to think on today: Have you ever been so wild about an idea that you completely forgot about the rest of your life or your greater goals? Maybe your January goals fall into that category? Or, if you’re like most people, you might not even be able to discern if they do or don’t. Enter the wheel of life – a tool I rely on with my coaching clients. It works as a temperature gauge; a snapshot of where you feel you currently reside in life. We can go into all sorts of detail, digging deep, making observations and plans for how they can enrich their lives. The wheel of life comprises of eight sections as below, my clients circle (or place a numerical figure against each section if they are performing this exercise without the wheel template) a number in each section, ranking their overall satisfaction out of 10. We join the numbers to create a wheel inside the wheel, the aim is to have each section marked 10/10, ending up with a perfect circle. I have never seen a perfect circle. Ever. Next, we add detail, one section at a time, day by day or week by week, often taking a full hour-long session per section. I ask which section they would like to focus on and how they can elevate that number up two points. I’m not asking you to tackle the whole wheel today (If you’re not up for even one section of the wheel, keep reading!). However, if you would like to go for it, read a previous blog post on the subject. Today I would like you to look at one section, the one that speaks loudest to you, the one which calls for attention. Rank your overall satisfaction in this area out of 10 |
| . Family/Parenting . Personal Development . Career/Profession . Intimate/Social Relationships . Fun & Enjoyment . Personal Finance . Health/Aging . Spiritual Awareness |
| Imagine you were with me in a coaching session and you are taking one hour to work on how you think and feel about a particular area of the wheel. How can you increase your satisfaction, create a happier, more purposeful life? Let’s take personal finance as an example. I may ask you the following questions: |
| . What does personal financial success look like to you? . What do you like, dislike about your current financial situation?What have you done well, not done so well? . What brings you stress? . What are your goals? (there can be more than one) . Where are your areas of focus short, medium and long term? . What is getting in your way of moving forwards towards your goals? . What do you need to do to attain the goals? . Where/what do you need help? . What is your plan? |
| If you would like me to help you through this process reach out and we can arrange to connect, in absentia of my help, start to make notes; write down whatever come to mind, there is no right or wrong. Be honest with yourself, no matter how successful you are in any particular area of the wheel there is always room for improvement. Financial success may not mean earning more money, it may mean sorting out your will, perhaps phoning the pension fund to check on your retirement forecast or looking at where you can get a better deal on your wi-fi or car insurance. Aim to move a couple of numbers up your satisfaction chart in the next month, then go back and look again at how you can move another two, until you are at a point where the next piece of the wheel pie is shouting louder at you and give that the same attention. H*ll no, I’m not doing that! Ok, so you aren’t up for the lofty challenge of dissecting your wheel of life, and definitely not the financial section. I get you, it’s not a 5-minute exercise, and you have other things on your priorities list. Try this instead. Take a few minutes to find one word to describe how you would like to feel or think about one section in your wheel. Perhaps your personal finances?. Take the one word and write 3 lines about what you would need to do in order to feel or think this way. This, my friends is your truncated ‘to-do’ list for this section of your wheel of life pie. The whole process can be repeated for each section, next week we will tackle another and I would love you to follow along in this process with me. Do let me know if you have any questions, post a comment in the Flourish and Nourish Facebook page or drop me an email, I’d love to hear from you. As always, share this with someone who may need a nudge or benefit from a little inspiration. Zoë x |
