What is a life wheel?
A life wheel also known as the wheel of life is basically a conceptual wheel divided into different segments that represent different areas of our lives. It is a wheel that gives us a glimpse of how you are faring in your overall life and also in the different individual areas of your life. It is an essential tool in our journey of growth.
Here's an example of a life wheel;
Each segment is rated on a scale of 1 - 10, whereby one is on the lower side and 10 on the upper, and representing how you are doing in the different areas of your life right now. It could be poorly, very well, or just okay. The segments are not fixed, you can alter them to fit the areas in your life you find important.
As you mark each segment, you should mark out your scores then connect the dots. In the end you get a web-like diagram that gives you an idea of how you are faring in your life.
The life wheel lets you spot the different parts of your life that you are performing poorly and thus work on improving the score. It also helps you identify the areas in your life that you have neglected, which are just as important.
1. Business/Career/Studies: How are you faring in your business as an entrepreneur, your career as an employee and your studies as a student? Are you achieving your best?
2. Finance/wealth: How much is your income/monthly cash flow? Are you able to save and how are you utilizing it? Do you have any current assets? A passive income stream?
3. Health/Fitness: Are you leading a holistic healthy lifestyle which include physical, emotional and mental health?
4. Social/Friends: What does your social circle consists of? Are they true friends, friends you can hang out with, have fun with and confide in? Are they helping you grow?
5. Family: What's your relationship like with your family members? Your relatives?
6. Romance/Love: What's your love life like?
7. Recreation/fun: How often do you give yourself a break and what are the activities you do for fun or to relax?
8. Contribution: Do you give back to the community?
9. Personal growth: Are you working everyday to reaching your highest potential. To being the best version of your self and to live your best life?
10. Spirituality: How in tuned are you with God. Your connection with our creator, God.
11. Self image: How do you view yourself? Do you respect yourself? Do you love yourself? Do you believe in your capabilities? Do you love what you do?
Which of these areas of your life are you neglecting? Ultimately, all areas on the wheel are important because they are parts of your life. Disregarding any one of them means disregarding a part of yourself and thus your larger life.
Whatever the current state of your life wheel looks like, it is important to note that low scores doesn't represent unhappiness, it reflects an opportunity to grow. Even when we get to a 10, we can always find new ways to make it better. Life is limitless. The only limits in life are those you put for yourself. Moreover what 10 means to you now could be different in a different time.
"The scariest thought in the world, is that someday I'll wake up and realize I've been sleepwalking through my life, under-appreciating the people I love, making the same hurtful mistakes over and over, a slave to neuroses, fear and habitual" ~ George Saunders
Are you sleepwalking through life? Well, for starters what does it even mean to be sleepwalking through life?
Sleepwalkers are people living through their life unconsciously. They are not fully aware of who they are or what they really want in life. They are caught up in the daily hustles and bustles of life without being fully aware of their larger context of life. Life to them is just happening rather than them making it happen. They do not have a clear direction of their life nor aren't aware of their purpose. They are living life out of what they've been made to believe by others rather than what they've discovered for themselves and mostly doing things because they "should" do them and not because they want to.
So how do you even know you are sleepwalking through life?
1. Find yourselves in repeated patterns of life that you have got no control of: Are you caught up in the daily hustles and bustles of life? Repeating the same activities daily with no conscious control over them? A cycle that continues week after week where you dread Mondays and constantly look forward to weekends to recharge yourself for another dead week ahead, since you probably hate what you do everyday but are afraid to change. You are too attached to the cycle, you end up getting comfortable in it to do anything about it. In your mind you're thinking or you're made to believe that that's how life supposed to be.
2. Unaware of the bigger picture in life: Do you feel like there's more to life, other than your daily routine of going to work/school, going home, eating, sleeping, having fun once in a while? Are you aware that there is a bigger world out there, outside of you, your wok, family, your friends? Sleepwalkers do not realize that their life is part of the whole universe. Part of something bigger than what they see everyday. They think it's a waste of time thinking about the bigger picture of life.
3. Unaware of their purpose in life and not living in alignment with their purpose: Are you aware of your purpose? What are your life's goals 5,10,15 - 40 years from now. Goals that are not just financial and material goals. Are you aware of what you want to do with your life? Sleepwalkers are not aware of their purpose in life. They are constantly living their lives for others other than for themselves. Making decisions and living life, based on others' opinion.
4. Waiting for life to happen rather than creating the life they want: Most often sleepwalkers have a passive approach to life afraid of taking charge of their lives. They have no control of their life and in most cases they will choose to stick in their comfort zone. They sometimes find themselves trapped and unhappy with where they are in life e.g their work, relationships, but they choose to go with the flow because they "don't have a choice" or "see no way out."
5. Unconscious of your thoughts: 60,000 thoughts run through our mind everyday. Are you aware of the thoughts that dominate your mind everyday and that you have got control over them? A sleepwalkers mind is often clattered and most often is unaware of the thoughts that occupy his/her mind. You are unaware of how your thoughts and emotions affect your life at large.
6. Lack ambition and motivation in life: Sleepwalker lack ambition and motivation in life as they mostly live their life from other peoples' expectations, often pursuing other people's goals, unaware of their own personal goals. They live simply because they are here, often doing things because they "should" do them and not because they want to.
7. Almost never find time to do things: In most cases sleepwalkers will never find time to do what it is they want to do, they are always waiting for a "next time" to pursue their goals unaware of the fact that the "next time" will never come. That their time to act is now.
Do you fit in any of this category? For most of my life I have lived my life as a sleepwalker. The saddest part being I wasn't even aware I was sleepwalking my life away. I was caught up in the daily hustles and bustles of life, getting stuck and doing things because I should and not because I want to, getting stuck in a job I didn't love afraid of pursuing my goals, choosing to stick to my comfort zone. You get stuck in that hustle life, to the point where you almost forget the core of who you really are. Living from the outside rather than the inside, living out of other people's vision and goals rather than my own.
Constantly seeking for the meaning of life unaware of the fact that only me can bring meaning to my life. I was unaware of my thoughts and more so of the fact that I was creating my life through every thought that went through my mind whether positive or negative.
Wake up from your dream!
The mere realization that you have been sleepwalking through your life, is the first step towards awakening. However, what you choose to do after waking up, is what is important. Are you going to be in denial of this reality pretending it hasn't or isn't happening? Or are you going to courageously face the reality and start living the life you are meant to live?
Creating your reality is 100% about directing your mind of how you want to live your life. It's about being a conscious creator aligning yourself with your heart desires. Awaken from your sleep and take back the power today and realize that you are a creator of your reality. Realizing that you have power over the situations that you often think of "having no choice" or "see no way out" and that you can start acting on them now.
For me, ever since I discovered I had been sleepwalking through life, which was like an year and a half ago, I make choices and take deliberate actions everyday to bring me closer to my dreams. What we forget is that everything in life is a matter of choice. If you feel you are stuck at some place you don't want to be, you have a choice to remain stuck or to take deliberate actions to change to be where you want to be. No matter who you are or where you are in life right now, no matter how old you are, it's never to late to be whom you are meant to be.
Don't get too caught up in the outside world such that you forget who you really are and discover you have only been sleepwalking through your life all along. Make sure that 5, 10,30-50 years from now, you will say that you chose your life and that you didn't settle for it.
I was totally struck by this statement the first time I saw it. It completely changed my view and perception of life. I had never thought of viewing life in such a perspective.
Think about it 'You are the Chief Executive Officer of your life'. Most of us work in a company or probably manage their own business whatever it may be. Every company has a structure where the CEO is usually the head.
A CEO of a company is generally the person who takes charge of all the decision regarding the growth and development of a company which include all sectors and fields of the company. He/She is responsible for the success/failure of a company and works towards improving it in every aspect to achieve its vision/goals.
Every company/organization is established as a means for achieving defined objectives. It's got different divisions/department depending on the size of the company each having its own end objectives/goals for each department.
Think about it this way, your life as your company. Start viewing your life as the company you work for and you as the CEO.
Real Life Application:
As the CEO of your life you are in charge of all the decision required to the overall improvement of all aspects of your life. You are the end determinant of how you chose to live your life. That means you are responsible for any success or failure in your life. As the CEO of your life, you realize that if you neglect any area of your life then the overall life performance will be affected. So how do you do this?
Ask yourself the following:
What kind of CEO are you? Are you a competitive CEO? Are you working hard towards the highest achievement of your company/life?
How about your company? What is its overall performance? - This applies to where you are in life. What's the growth of your company? Are you working towards growing your company everyday or is your company stagnate? Is it about to crash down or is it thriving?
How are the different departments in your company performing? In companies they've got different departments such as human resource department, sales & marketing, finance e.t.c depending on the size of the company. In your life, how are the different departments faring? These include; career, wealth, health(nutrition and fitness), Relationships(family, friends, love) and spirituality.
Are you making sure you are not neglecting any of them? A company's overall performance is dragged down if one of the department is neglected.
Are you neglecting any of your department? It's sad that most people concentrate more on career and wealth neglecting all the other aspects of their life which are equally important and hence find that most people are never happy with their life even with the acquired wealth. Some people work all their life for wealth, neglecting their health and end up using all the acquired wealth to sustain their health. How about your friends, family, love life,spirituality how are those departments of your life faring?
What are the short term and long term goals for your company? Just like all companies have goals, what are your life goals? what are you goals 1,2,5 -10years from now. Do you write them down? Where do you want to see yourself in 1,2,3 or 10 years from now and as the CEO of your life what decisions are you making to ensure you achieve them?
As the CEO of your life how often are you reviewing your company? Most companies do quarterly or half year reviews on their performances and identify the improvements they've made and what needs to be improved. What's your review on your life thus far,what improvements have you made and what need to be improved?
What is the strategy and vision of your company? It is the ultimate duty of every CEO to set direction for their company, its mission statement. As the CEO of your life what have you set as the direction of your life? What's your mission in life? Your life's purpose? Your life's goals? Have you identified them and are you working towards them? Without a clear direction in life, life can be hollow.
What are your company's core values? Every company is defined by their values. Vision is where the company is going whereas values is how the company gets there. . I remember in my previous company we had to remember the core values of the company and were always reminded to live in line with them to achieve the company's vision. For example one of the core value was professionalism and you had to ensure that you were professional in everything you did at work. As the CEO of your life, what are the principles that define you? What are your core values in life? What are your beliefs? Are you living in alignment with them to achieve your life's goal
What's your team comprised of? Every CEO hires and fires his senior management team and the management team does the same for the rest of the staff in the organization. This is to remove the non performers in the company dragging the company down and replacing them with the performers a dedicated team for the betterment of the company. They also get good advisers.
In real life you need people who elevate and help you become a better person. So as the CEO of your life are you ensuring you have the best team around you? Are your friends helping you grow or dragging you down. Are they helping you towards the attainment of your life's goals? Do you have any advisers? in this case a mentor? Someone you look up to?
As a CEO, are you sharpening your skills to stay sane and skillful, to stay top of the heap? - For better performance, most CEO's will provide additional training and education to their employees in the various departments and themselves too for better performance of the company.
As the CEO of your life are you making sure your learning and growing? Studying books and materials to make you better and that help you learn and grow overall, and by overall I mean all aspects of your life. All the departments of your life{health(nutrition & fitness), career, wealth, spirituality, relationship(family, friends and love)}. You could be knowledgeable on how to build a successful career but do you know what it takes to build a loving relationship? To build a strong family bond? What keeping your health in check and healthy living involves?
The key note here is that, for every company to be successful, every CEO will work on ensuring that non of the departments of the company are neglected. They are well aware that neglecting any part of their department will affect the overall performance of the company on the downside. In real life being the CEO of your life means you are responsible for the success or failure in your life. And just like in every company you need to realize that neglecting a certain department in your life will affect your larger life and thus won't lead you to living your best life. Living your best life and a life of excellence means living a balanced life. Ensuring that all areas of your life are at peak performance. Being the CEO of your life means that you hold the key to your destiny. Be the conscious creator of the life you wish to live.
Below is a note that was said to be a 'death-bed essay' by Apple co- founder, Steve Jobs which was being spread on social media between the month of November and December last year. I personally came across it first on Instagram. However it was found out that, the words were actually NOT by Steve Jobs as they weren't confirmed to be true by anyone close to him. However, the words are really powerful and true and I believe that no matter who said or wrote the words they can be quite helpful in our daily lives. They personally got me thinking about my life. They are very deep and introspective.
・・・
Steve jobs’ Last Words -
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I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world.
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In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success.
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However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.
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At
this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I
realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride
in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.
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In
the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting
machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath
of god of death drawing closer…
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Now
I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our
lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth…
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Should be something that is more important:
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Perhaps
relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days ...
Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted
being, just like me.
-God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth.
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The wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me.
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What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love.
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That’s the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on.
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Love
can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to
go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in
your hands.
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What is the most expensive bed in the world? - "Sick bed" …
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You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.
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Material
things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be
found when it is lost – "Life". When a person goes into the operating
room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish
reading – "Book of Healthy Life". Whichever stage in life we are at
right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.
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Treasure love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends... Treat yourself well. Cherish others.
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How much do you know about yourself really? Have you ever been asked a question about yourself and you get baffled by it? You think about the question and it gets you to the 'aha' moment where you go like.."Hmm, I have never thought about that....." and then it certainly hits you how much of an important question that is and immediately you start reflecting on it?
Claude Levi-Strauss, who was a famous French anthropologist said, "The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions." There's just so much you can learn about someone by
simply asking them the right questions. In the same way, there's just so
much you can learn about yourself by asking yourself all the right
questions.
Here is a conversation between a friend of mine and myself on watsup, some time back, about a question he asked me about myself.
I must say I was quite impressed by how fast I got to answer the
question. To be truly honest however, it is because I had already
started doing so much self reflection which is key to personal growth and self awareness. If you'd have asked me the same questions a while back I'd honestly get stamped. I still get baffled by some questions but the good thing is that self discovery is a long life process.
Questions are good. When a question is asked it triggers your mind to deep thinking. The right questions drive our thought underneath the surface of things.
For example, questions of information force us to look at our source and quality of information, questions of purpose, force us to define our task, questions of assumptions force us to look at what we are taking for granted.
Hence, knowing the right questions to ask yourself every now and then will determine the kind of person you become. It raises your self awareness levels e.g of where you are in life and where you wish to be and this in turn helps you to consciously chose the life you want to lead,a life dictated by your heart desires and not by others.
"The key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions"~ John Simone
Here are 40 most important questions you should be asking yourself regularly:
- Who are you?
- What makes you happy?
- What's a happy life to you? What are you doing everyday to live a happier life?
- Are you happy with your life thus far? Why?/Why not?
- What are you passionate about?
- What are your values? What do you stand for?Are you living in alignment with your values?
- What do you live for? Your purpose? What do you want to do with your life?
- Do you love yourself? Why/why not?
- Do you really love and enjoy what you do everyday?If not, what are you doing about it? Is what you're doing developing you in any way?
- Are you leading a healthy life? Do you think it's important? Why or why not? If yes what are you doing everyday to improve your health?
- Are you proud of who you are and what you've done thus far? If not why not?
- Are you grateful for the things you already have and achieved in your life?
- What's your top priority right now and what are you doing about it?
- What's your ideal self?
- Are you living the life of you dreams? What are you doing right now to ensure you do that?
- What scares you most about life and why?
- What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
- If you were to start your life all over again, is there anything you would change? what would it be?
- What change would you want to see in yourself and others and what are you doing about it?
- Are you a definition of what you want to see in others? Are you making sure you are? How?
- Are your friends helping you grow, pushing you beyond limits? Are they influencing you positively or negatively? How is this affecting your life? Do you think there's something you should do about it?
- When was the last time you did something good for someone or people for that matter?
- What are the things/who are the people you cherish most in life? Do you show them (for people) that you do cherish them and how do you do it? Do you think you could do it better and often?
- Who do you draw inspiration from in the world and why?
- What's the meaning of life to you?
- Are you really living life or just in existence?
- Are you truly living your life to the fullest? Do you feel like there's more to life than what you already know, or been made to believe by others, or are you just settling and in your comfort zone, afraid of stepping off your comfort zone?
- What do you think you should be doing and are not doing? If not now then when?
- Is chasing money all you want to do in your life?
- What would you consider doing forever without being paid and knowing that you'd never fail?
- What are some of the things you've done, are you not proud of?
- If you were to give your 15 year old self some advice what would you tell him/her?
- What would matter to you most when you're 80years old and above?
- What's on your bucket list and what are you doing everyday to clear the list?
- What would you do if you only had one year left to live?
- What would you regret not being, not doing or not having in your life if you only had one more day to live and what are you doing to make sure that never happens?
- What do you think you'd be remembered for?
- Imagine writing your own eulogy, what would you write?
- What are the biggest lessons in life you've learnt so far?
- What are you doing everyday to improve your life or to be where you want to be tomorrow?
You may not have immediate answers to these questions, actually it's perfectly okay to not have the answers because asking the questions is somehow the answer to itself. It's however important to ask yourself these questions regularly, as they will open up and expand your mind and slowly by slowly give you clarity and the discovery process hence becomes easy. They somehow become our intuition, guiding us through our life's journey.
So? What's the one thing you'll do differently after reading this?
