Your life is comprised of all 7 categories you see here and in EQUAL MEASURE. When you’re working 40+ hours a week and you’ve got a family to provide for, you may behave as if Work/Career is 50% of the pie, but wonder why you are feeling burned out or less fulfilled in these other areas. The answer is simple; you have sacrificed other parts of your life in order to devote more time to Work/Career. These are the moments when you begin thinking about work-life balance and creating space to nurture all the pieces of life’s pie. You examine which segment(s) of your life has diminished the most and begin thinking of ways to make time to revive that portion of your life. In that way the life wheel is a nice reminder to strive for balance in your daily living.
Likewise, the life wheel can be an excellent tool to help you cope when one segment of your life isn’t going so well. Innumerable jobs have been impacted by COVID19 and many of us are afraid of what’s to come – a perfectly natural reaction. But when you look to the life wheel you remember that life is more than Work/Career. You can stay positive and motivated when you glance at the life wheel and remember that there are other sources of joy, acceptance, and achievement in the other portions of your life. Perhaps this is an opportunity to reconnect with your spouse, to become a more active part of your community through volunteerism, or to spend time nurturing your sense of spirituality and “what it all means.”
The Life Wheel is the essence of what Whole Living is about – devising strategies to create the LIFE you want, not just the job you want or the money you wish you had. Engagement is the key. Research suggests that the most positive people and those who feel most satisfied with their lives have one thing in common: they are engaged in all aspects of their lives. Affirmation or esteem is not limited to just one piece of the pie; it comes from every piece of life’s pie. Think of it this way. Would you want to eat the same flavor of pie for dessert every day for the rest of your life or would you like 7 pie flavors to choose from on any given day? You could even mix two or three flavors together and create desserts you never dreamed of before. I know which one I choose. Which sounds more appetizing to you?
-S. Lynne Coleman, Career Strategist and Coach