Get Some Perspective on Life

In Friday's post, Choosing the Life You Want, I talked about how I finally got the life that I wanted.  Today, I'm going to share an exercise with you that can help you figure out where to start in making your own life the best it can be.  This exercise is called The Circle of Individual Perspective (see example above), and it can help you see where you are now and what you might need to work on in order for those dreams to come true.

First, draw a circle on a blank piece of paper and divide the circle equally into six sections. Don't worry if they aren't even.  Place one of the following labels on the outside edge of the sections (one label per section):  career, relationships, financial, health, spiritual, and well-being.

Now, rate each of the six categories on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "least satisfied" and 10 being "most satisfied."  For example, if your relationships are very satisfying/you have many good friends, you would label that section a 9 or 10, but if you're going through a divorce or you're lonely/don't have many friends you'd probably label that section a 1 or 2 instead.  

Okay next, imagine that the circle represents a bicycle wheel.  Draw a straight line across the "career" section at a point that represents your rating.  Say you rated your career a 6. The line you draw from spoke to spoke on the "wheel" would be pretty close to the middle of the section.  If you rated health at a 9 then the line would be very close to the outside edge of the wheel.

When you've drawn all the lines, color in the sections that are closest to the center of the circle.  Now, what does the "bicycle wheel" look like?  Does it look as if it's pretty even all around?  Is the wheel large, or small?  The bigger the wheel, the smoother your ride of life will be.  If the wheel is even but small, it still might be difficult since you've rated each section of life lower than optimal.  If you've got numbers all over the place, as in the above example, 4, 7, 9, 9, 6, 8, you're looking at a pretty funky looking wheel and thus a rough ride in life.

Look at your wheel.  Are you satisfied with it?  Will it provide you with a smooth or bumpy ride?  Take what this exercise has taught you and begin to make little changes in the areas of your life that you most want to improve.  Set goals, devise a plan of action to begin the journey of meeting those goals, and then make them happen.  Dream, imagine, believe, achieve!

If you have any questions about this exercise, or if you would like to find out more about life coaching, please contact me at amy@acnlifecoach.com.  Take care.