Life Balance

Life balance is the core of personal development. Anyone who is serious about being the best they can be, knows this. It's a never-ending quest, a personal evolution and a truly inspiring journey. Life balance is about gradually improving key areas of your life to achieve and sustain balance.

There is a very simple, yet effective tool which is widely used in coaching and training to help you do this. It is called the "Wheel of Life". I have seen many different versions of the Wheel of Life; they frequently have different numbers of sections, different names for those sections and place them in varying orders around the wheel. Some are black and white, some are colourful, some are interactive and some aren't really very wheel-like at all.

My version of the Wheel of Life is a very carefully considered one; I have put a lot of thought and consideration into its design. It has eight key areas which are the same eight areas, in the same order that Michael Heppell uses in his book "How To Be Brilliant". Where my version differs from his, is in its graphical presentation. This is because I feel my version will be graphically clearer and therefore simpler for more people to grasp quickly, (if I'm wrong, or you disagree, just use his instead). I chose Michael Heppell's overall system because it fits very well with my own coaching methodology and because I believe his book really is brilliant! After all, why reinvent the wheel...!?

The Wheel of Life can help you to first map out, and then conceptually understand what you need to do next to improve your life in balanced way. To illustrate the purpose of the Wheel of Life here are a couple of examples:

Some people who are perceived by others to be successful (perhaps because they have a lot of money), may find that their relationships suffer as a result of all the hard work they put in to actually getting that money.

Conversely, others may have great health and successful relationships, but hate their jobs and never seem to have enough money to pay the bills.

The Wheel of Life is a wonderful tool for providing focus, direction and understanding. Used regularly (once a month is a good benchmark), it will help you to really take control of your life instead of being carried along on a tide of haphazard events. You can download the Wheel of Life from my website here - it's free.

Once you have downloaded it and printed it out, borrow some crayons or felt tipped pens from the kids or use highlighters to fill it in - this is great fun! (Remember fun?)
Give yourself a score for each area from 0 to 10, where 0 is as bad as could be and 10 is as good as could be. Be honest about this; don't delude yourself. Men tend to overestimate themselves and women tend to underestimate themselves, and whilst I realise this is a huge generalisation on my part, be aware of it and therefore your own tendencies.

The eight areas are:

Health - (Think physically and psychologically, plus consider your energy levels)
Close Family - (Your relationships with them)
Money - (Not how much you have, but your relationship with it)
Relationships - (This means other people generally, including your partner)
Contribution - (Think time, energy, resources, money, and your feelings about giving)
Vision - (How clear are your goals, are you passionate about them?)
Career - (How do you feel about yours?)
Personal Development - (Learning new things and dealing with change)

For a more detailed description of the eight key areas read How To Be Brilliant by Michael Heppell.

Your completed Wheel of Life is a snapshot of where you are right now. File it and revisit it each time you complete a new one. You will soon be able to see the progress you are making - it will become real for you and this can be very motivating.