Feeling Out of Balance? Check Your Wheel of Life

Many of us are feeling out of balance these days. There are many stressors in our environment; some of these stressors are new and some of them have been there so long we no longer recognize them as stressors. When we feel our car out of alignment, we know what to do; we bring the car to our mechanic. But what do we do for ourselves?

The first step is a diagnostic one. Where are you out of balance? Is it that you’re not fulfilled by work? Or is it that you’re overwhelmed by family responsibilities? When was the last time you engaged in self-care or self-renewal? 

One diagnostic tool I find helpful is the wheel of life. The wheel of life is a simple tool consisting of a circle divided into segments, each representing the key areas of your life. To create one is as simple as drawing a circle and dividing it into parts (six and eight are most common). You then label each as one of the core parts of your life. These parts will vary for each person. Examples include:

  • health;
  • relationships (together or divided into intimate relationships and friends and family);
  • finances;
  • self-renewal;
  • work;
  • personal growth; and
  • spirituality.

Of course, you can come up with other categories that fit your life.

On a scale (usually of 0-5 or 0-10), you grade where your life is in that segment. What you ask yourself on the wheel of life is up to you, but it’s usually one of two questions: 1) How much attention am I giving to that part of my life? and 2) How fulfilled do I currently feel in that area of my life? Again, you can generate another question of your own design!

A completed wheel of life is a rather stark visual representation of your life. It will demonstrate–in black, white or color (your choice!)–the areas of your life that are being attended to (or not) or in which you are feeling fulfilled (or not). The goal–at least for most of us!–is to move towards a wheel that is balanced, so that life’s ride is as smooth as possible. That doesn’t mean, however, that you need to get the same score in each category. For example, at any point in time a certain area of your life may demand or you may want to give a certain area of your life more attention; that is your choice. If you do that, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of balance. In order to make a judgment about that, I recommend that you do a comparison of what you’d like your ideal score to be vs. what your actual score is at this moment in time.

There are many wheel of life templates which can be found online, though one of my favorites is that of MindTools. It can be found online and with instructions. Whether you use a version found online or make one yourself is less the point than simply doing the wheel of life diagnostic check! It’s a quick and easy way to check in with yourself and then point you in the right direction to make the readjustments necessary to bring your life back into balance. I hope you’ll give it a spin! When you do, let me know how it worked for you.

Suggested Action Items

  1. Find someplace quiet. Close your eyes for a few minutes to reflect on your life. When you’re ready, climb into the basket of a hot air balloon and take a virtual ride. As you float in the air over your life, what do you see? What do your days and nights look like? Where’s the activity? Where’s the stress? Where’s the joy? Does what you see align with what you’d like your life to look like? When you’re ready, gently float back down for a safe landing.
  2. If you’re creative, create your own wheel of life. Identify the categories. Decorate them in any way you’d like to reflect how you feel about either the attention this segement of your life is getting or how much fulfillment it’s providing you. If you’d rather, go to MindTools and fill out their wheel of life online.
  3. Reflect on the results of your wheel of life. What are the changes that need to be made to bring you into balance? In what segment(s) of your life? What daily adjustment(s) can you make in order to achieve the realignment you seek?  Even identifying one thing you’ll do each day to correct your course and achieve more/better balance can be life transforming.  

p.s. The above image is of a Tibetan Buddhist wheel of life. At the center of this wheel are the three root poisons of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

Image: Srid pa’i khor lo (Wheel of Life).
Painting on cloth, twentieth century.
Tibetan Collection,
Asian Division (109)