So you start painting again, and you become happier. Neglect one area, and it will most likely affect the others.įor example, you may think that your problem is “I need a new job”, but the ‘Wheel of Life’ may reveal other areas that you’ve seriously dropped down the back of the sofa, like a need to be creative. Life isn’t as rigidly compartmentalised as we think it is. Even when a client is quite specific about the issue they want to tackle, a coach needs a bird’s eye view of what’s going on. Why? Because it’s a great place to start. If you like, you can shade in your pie piece.The ‘Wheel of Life’ is a diagnostic tool that many coaches use in first coaching session with a client. This is about what matters to you.Īfter rating each area, graph your satisfaction, draw a line (or arc) in your pie piece where 1 is closest to the center and 10 is at the outline of the circle. And if any of these areas are not important to you, feel free to omit them. I also enjoy cooking and baking, and consider that a hobby since I don’t do it every day.Īsk yourself similar questions about your wild card category.

What do you like to do when you’re not working or taking care of other obligations? Some of my hobbies overlap with health because they include working out and yoga. This can be anything you do for fun, leisure, or recreation. Do you have people that you enjoy spending time with? When you want to share about your life and work, or discuss a problem you are having, who comes to mind? Who would you call if you needed help with something? Hobbies Similar to family, this is about having friendships and intimacy in your life. Are you able to spend enough quality time with your family? How is your home life? Are you keeping in touch with family who doesn’t live near you? Relationships This could be your children, or your family of origin, or your partner or spouse. Do you have debt that you are paying down, or accumulating more of? Do you set aside funds to Treat Yo Self? Family Can you afford the things you need in life to survive and thrive? Perhaps you are saving towards a major purchase or for retirement. This area is about more than just how much money you make or your net worth it’s about your sense of prosperity in the world and in life. This could be related to your occupation or hobbies. And what are you learning? Keep in mind you can learn in a variety of ways - classes, training, videos, books, experiences, self-guided or with a teacher, etc. Consider the level and quality of learning. This is important for a sense of progress, and could also be called personal growth or self-development. Are you doing what you want to be doing? If not, are you taking any steps toward what you want? If you are already doing it, how’s it going? Learning Or maybe you are a philanthropist, volunteer, or full-time parent. Or you might be a student or trainee in school, university, or a training program. Perhaps it’s your career or job, paid or unpaid. No matter what you do, everyone has an occupation.

This could also include mental and emotional health - how well are you able to process information and think clearly, and make good decisions? How well do you cope with and manage your emotions? Occupation Consider your physical health, and aspects of health that are important to you - for example, medical conditions, fitness or other activity, nutrition, sleep, hydration, etc. You can define this however you want so that it’s meaningful to you.

If you haven’t already, I recommend that you do a retrospective first, since that tends to bring up things that are top of mind for you, before doing broader assessment using the Wheel. The Wheel can help you hone in on the areas of your life where you might not be totally satisfied and would like to be happier. Maybe you aren’t sure where to start, but have a feeling that you want to change something. Now, I haven’t been a big fan of setting New Year’s resolutions because I believe in continuous improvement, but I’ll admit that the beginning of the year is a nice time to wipe the slate clean and start some new habits. Today, I’ll discuss how you can use a Life Balance Wheel (aka the Wheel of Life), a tool commonly used in coaching, to assess how things are going in key areas of your life and where you might want to make some changes. And since research links gratitude to well-being, I have a lot on my side in my pursuit of happiness. That tells me that even though I sometimes felt like I was in the depths of despair due to things going on in my life and the world in general, and though I felt weary and beaten down by a never ending stream of More Bad News, I have so much to be thankful for.

Blank wheel of life printable