Finding your Balance

a delicate dance between what you can & cannot control

As I was dancing around my mat trying to find stillness in a balancing posture, my yoga teacher connects the act of finding balance to a dance; sometimes you are in the flow and feeling yourself and other times you are sore and beat up from tackling a new move.

Relating balance to dance keeps this process of finding balance realistic. It is a reminder that some areas of your life can be solid while others have room for adjustment. If you can truly connect with the concept that this is a dance it gives you permission to misstep and try again.

A well-known technique for evaluating balance in your life was created by Paul Meyer a pioneer in the personal self-development industry called the "wheel of life".

The Wheel of life

Using the wheel of life assessment helps you cultivate more balance in your life.

The purpose of this exercise is to identify how you’re currently spending your time and how satisfied you are in the different categories of your life.

Start by filling out your own version of the wheel of life (a downloadable version is below), if there are other areas of your life you want to include, you can use different categories that fit your current lifestyle.

Here are the foundational categories: Health & wellness, finances, career, social life, family life, romance, contribution, fun, self-image, personal growth, and spirituality. Once you have your categories make a mark in each category on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the greatest on the outside of the circle and 1 being the lowest on the inside of the circle. Once you made a mark in each category, go around the circle and connect the dots.

Wheel of life

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Here are some prompts to help you as you fill out your Wheel of Life:

Health & Wellness: How are you feeling physically and mentally? Is there room for improvement in your lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise, meditation, and overall mindfulness to help you live a healthier life?

Career: Is your career where you want it to be by now? Does it fuel other areas of your life, or does it consume your life?

Finances: Are you earning enough income to satisfy your current needs? Are you financially set up for future growth in wealth?

Social & Friends: Do you have a supportive and thriving friend circle? Do you engage in social events or connections that add or take away?

Family: Is your family supportive of you? Are you supportive of your family?

Romance or Love: Do you feel loved? How often are you expressing love to others?

Fun: Are you enjoying your life and making it fun? Are you satisfied with the level of activity that you do?

Contribution: How would others rate your contribution to society or them as individuals?

Personal Growth: How focused are you on personal growth? Are you trying new experiences and seeking to learn?

Spirituality: How connected are you to the inner and outer world? Are you satisfied with your relationship with your spiritual being?

Self-Image: Do you think of your abilities highly? Do you respect and love yourself? Do you appreciate yourself?

REFLECT & Action

Now that you have filled out your Wheel and connected the dots, take a moment to see the big picture. What areas are you thriving in, and what areas need more attention? If you are happy with your distribution of balance, then good on you and keep doing what you are doing; if you see an area or multiple that need more support, that's where you need to focus your attention.

Now that you are aware of what areas need your attention, you can create a plan and take action. If you need support in making this plan of action, check out "five steps to help you set and obtain a value-based goal".