The Wheel of Balance: what it is and how to find harmony in all areas of life

Many people are used to summarizing results only at the end of the year. But experts advise doing it once a quarter. Why? To analyze the course of your life. As a result – to understand what is missing for happiness. Everyone at least once in his life has asked himself the question – “is my life harmonious?”. There is a great method to help figure this out.

Anyone who is interested in time management or personal growth knows about such a technique as the “wheel of life” or “wheel of life balance”. It is often used in various motivational trainings.

Often people make the mistake of setting goals in only one area. As a rule, it is career or finances. They throw all their energies into achieving the necessary results. But at the end they feel only disappointment, burnout and go into depression. In addition to these areas, there are others that are no less important than social success. This is something to keep in mind.

psychologist, developer of the theory of adaptive intelligence

By applying the “life balance wheel” technique, you can assess your level of satisfaction in all areas. But the main thing is to understand where to go next.

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What is the Wheel of Life Balance?

“The wheel of life is an analytical coaching tool with a 50-year history. It allows you to quickly assess how satisfied you are with your life, as well as to understand whether it is balanced or far from ideal.

The creator of this method is American coach Paul Meyer, who comes from a poor immigrant family. As a child, he had to work hard at farm labor. Once Paul asked his mother, “Mom, will I really have to work hard with my hands all my life?” And she answered him, “You have everything you need to do what you want and be whoever you want right now.”

Meyer later said, “It was at that moment that I realized that the choice is always mine and everything depends only on my attitude. The abundance of the world is at my service.”

The boy began to earn money. First he picked plums in orchards, sold newspapers, then he got into insurance policies. At 27, he became a millionaire, and later authored books on practical psychology and motivation.

In 1966, Mayer founded the Institute for Success Motivation, whose programs focus on personal fulfillment and aim to help people realize their full potential.

In 50 years, the institution has grown to an international group of companies represented in several dozen countries. Their trainings and books have been translated into more than 20 languages. Paul Mayer has become one of the world’s leading authorities on goal setting, time management, personal development and improvement.

During coaching sessions, Paul used the author’s “life balance wheel” methodology, which accomplishes certain tasks:

to see what areas are shaping life right now;
to understand how satisfied you are with your success in general;
to understand what is really important today;
compare your current situation with your ideal vision of life;
see bottlenecks and growth areas;
evaluate progress (if you make it a habit to repeat this technique once a quarter);
identify areas for change.

The Life Balance Wheel method motivates people to ask themselves questions that they don’t usually think about in everyday life. In the course of identifying key areas for themselves and making assessments, the individual is already in the process of analyzing them. Often many problems become immediately visible.

Interpreting the resulting picture allows for a comprehensive look at one’s life. The technique is easy to use and available to anyone. You need a pen, a piece of paper and 20-30 minutes of free time.

Types of “life balance wheel”

Undoubtedly, the most popular type is the “pie”/”pizza”. In this case, the lines on the evaluation scale are drawn through the entire fragment, the selected part is colored. In this case, a “spider web” is also encountered. Here, instead of coloring the assessment, dots are placed, which are then connected. As a rule, this method is found in online versions of the “life balance wheel”.

There are other variations: “sunshine”, “cake” and “target”. But they are not suitable for independent work. They must be performed with the help of a psychologist or coach. Why? They include certain techniques of self-analysis.

What sectors does the wheel of life balance consist of?

Paul Meyer’s wheel of life originally consisted of six sectors. Over time, the number of areas considered grew. Today, some experts suggest including up to 12 areas of life in the wheel of balance .

The space around you. Does the climate suit you? Is it pleasant to be at home? Is the road to the nearest coffee shop pleasing to the eye?
Family and loved ones. Does socializing with your surroundings fill you up or empty you out?
Love. Are personal relationships inspiring and supportive or frustrating and draining?
Children. How strong and good are your relationships with them?
Health. Are your body and psyche getting enough care and attention?
Appearance. How happy are you with your reflection in the mirror? Are you satisfied with your image?
Recreation. Do you have enough time and resources to have quality recuperation?
Money. Does your financial situation allow you to cover basic needs and not feel in short supply?
Career and Status. How complete is fulfillment in a professional environment?
Hobbies. Do you manage to devote time to your favorite activities?
Self-development. Is it possible to think about dreams and global goals and move in their direction?
Spirituality. Do you know the feeling of presence of a higher beginning in your life? Do you see a higher meaning in events?

A great advantage of the method is its flexibility: the composition and number of areas to be analyzed can be adapted to a person’s specific situation. If some area needs to be detailed, it is worth creating a separate wheel for it. It can be such sectors as friendship, sports, traveling, sex, education, security, charity.

How to work with the wheel of life balance?

Once the sectors have been selected, you should rate your satisfaction with each of the spheres on a 10-point scale. For the sake of objectivity, it makes sense to think about what criteria would personally indicate the maximum score for us. This will give an idea of how you see the ideal state of affairs in a particular sphere. The difference between the real state and the exemplary picture will set the vector of further movement.

If we divide each sector into ten parts and put a mark at the level corresponding to the score assigned during the assessment stage, it will be possible to unite the marks of all sectors with one line.

Once the scores have been assigned, we can begin to analyze. Think about the following points.

Which sectors “slipped”?
Which sectors are ahead of the others?
What steps should be taken in the near future to increase the score on the lagging sectors?
Which sectors are most important to you today?
How might your idea of the ideal state of affairs in different sectors change in a month, six months, a year?

But the main question is whether the wheel is “rolling”? The essence of the tool’s work is that it should move, and this is possible only if the sectors are filled evenly… If it does not roll, it is necessary to equalize the “sagging sectors” or remove from the focus of attention those spheres in which there is no desire to develop.

Now that you have a snapshot of your life in front of your eyes (a kind of compass), you can use it to check and make a growth plan. For each of the sectors you need to formulate 4-5 specific steps that could lead to an increase in your score by one or two. After that – move on to action.

What might these be? For example, if your health is “sagging”, the plan might be as follows:

go to the gym twice a week;
keep hydrated;
eliminate fast food from your diet;
have your teeth checked by a dentist.

Being active in the right way will bring you closer to balance, and harmony is what will give the most satisfaction with yourself and what’s going on. It will also energize you and give you the confidence that one can handle any challenges.

In doing so, you will see how all the spheres are connected. For example, if you have a small “rest” sector, it will influence “health” and “beauty”. The same rule works in the opposite direction. Providing yourself with a good night’s sleep, walks in the fresh air, full recovery of strength, you will be able to positively affect your health and appearance.

There is also one pitfall here. First of all, everyone pays attention to what sags and forgets about the sectors that are far superior. This is often the case for workaholics who have a pronounced work/career fragment. This is worth paying attention to. It is necessary to bring this sphere of life into harmony. How? To begin with, stop working outside of office hours and do not take cases on weekends.