In our coaching training, we at CM were introduced to a tool called the wheel of life (WOL). The purpose of the WOL is to identify different areas of your life, be able to see areas as part of a whole, and assess your level of satisfaction in each area. Often, completing the tool reminds you that while you might feel challenged in one area, you don’t in others. The process of completing the tool allows you to see balance and imbalances in overall satisfaction with the whole and a sense of where to focus your effort to increase overall satisfaction.
The WOL can be used as an individual, for your organization or an overall system. Steps for using the wheel:
- Draw a circle
- Divide it up in to 8 equal pieces
- Write or label each piece with a domain or area. (for example, as individuals, we chose domains such as health, family, friends, work, leisure, faith, etc.)
- Rate your current level of satisfaction with each area from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest)
When looking at your WOL, what do you see?
What surprises you?
What feels challenging?
What are you motivated to do to increase those domains with lower scores?
Keep the wheel and reassess every few months to see where you moved, where you didn’t and recommit.
This tool was adapted from The Circle of Life by:
Williams, J.A. (2014) Super Training Guide: Academic Life Coaching’s Training Program. Academic Life Coaching: Portland, OR
