It's so important to check in with ourselves and see how we're doing. Are we still on the right track? Are we satisfied with our lives and how we're living them? Taking a few moments to see how we're doing, and how we feel about how we're doing, can be so very important.

Wheel of Life

The Wheel of Life and the Wheel of Aliveness are easy tools to help assess how you feel. Don't forget to keep your Wheels. When you repeat this exercise in the future you can visually see all the progress you've made!

I've included two easily-printable Wheels here. There are also different versions of these Wheels and assessment tools online if you prefer to calculate your Wheel in that way. Don't forget, these Wheels are a tool for YOUR life! Feel free to modify or change the categories in a way that works best for you.

Instructions

For each category, enter a value from 0-10, indicating how satisfied you are with that area of your life right now. 0 = not at all satisfied, 10 = completely satisfied, couldn't be better. Each value may mean something different to each person, just like each category may signify something different. For example, I could have almost zero Dance & Music in my life, but still be 100% satisfied with the amount I do have. OR, I could have all the money in the world, but still feel deeply unsatisfied with my financial situation. This is an exercise meant to help YOU understand how you feel and what you value. Don't worry if your wheel looks completely different from someone else's, or if you don't understand how they calculated their values. Focus on what is true and real for you. If you get stuck, check out Chris Mullen's Wheel of Life Worksheet. He's got a great one.

Wheel of Aliveness Example

Here's a completed example. This is my Wheel of Aliveness. I'm the type of person that believes there is always an opportunity for improvement, even when things are going great and appear perfect - so I didn't mark any category a 10. I don't have a lot of Dance and Music in my life, but I am very satisfied with what I do have. To be honest, it's not a huge priority to me, so ironically, it scores the highest. To me, this means it's not something I need to focus on.

On the other hand, Learning & Creativity is super important to me. I love learning new ways to think about things, new skills, and hearing different perspectives. I also love making things. I paint, I quilt, I cook and I am always trying to DIY things around the house. I devote a lot of time, effort, and financial investment into this category. It always feels like a positive payoff. And I ALWAYS want more! Sign me up for a new class! Take me to a lecture! Recommend a great book you learned something from! I scored myself lower in this category because there is so much more I want to learn!

If you look at how I scored myself on Movement & Play and Nature, these levels may seem low. But the last time I completed my Wheel I scored myself much lower. It made me realize how much I value (and need!) time outdoors, sunshine, and activity to make me feel healthy, happy and whole. I've put the effort in and made huge improvements in this area, which makes me really proud. It's still a focus for me, and I'm still working on improving my time management so I can incorporate more of this into my life.

I scored myself the lowest in Gratitude & Positivity and Community & Connection. I DO feel grateful and positive. I scored myself highly in Light & Love because I LOVE what I do! I love the small businesses that I work for, the place that I live, and the people I've surrounded myself with. But I don't always express this happiness to other people in the way I want to. My desire to always improve, learn and grow sometimes comes off as a dissatisfaction with how things currently are. In my mind I can feel grateful for how things are AND still try and improve things in that area, but I don't express this sentiment well. I'm learning to shift the way I talk and interact with people to improve the way I represent my thoughts and feelings.

Looking at my new Wheel, I realize how important Community and Connection is to me, and how little focus I am currently giving it. Now that I realize, I can explore different options for incorporating more of these type of opportunities in my life. Sometimes it doesn't even take drastic actions to feel huge improvements. I just took the time to fill out a survey for my local library. They were looking for the community to weigh in on what kind of programs and resources would be valuable for young members. The whole process took 10 minutes, but afterwards I felt more involved and connected to my community and probably would have scored myself higher on the Wheel had I filled it out again right after. Small efforts can yield big results!

Lastly, Laughter. It's been stressful and frustrating with workplaces closed and stay-at-home orders issued during this COVID-19 pandemic. I started following some comedians on Facebook and I've begun sharing more funny videos and stories with family and friends. Starting my day off with a laugh helps keep me positive and focused. But I could always use more, especially during this difficult time.

If you have ideas to share on building satisfaction in any of these areas, I'd love to hear them!