The Wheel of Life: The Most Powerful Tool to Assess Your Life and Success

“Life punishes the vague wish but rewards the specific ask” - Tim Ferris

Clarity and specificity are key to manifesting our goals and aspirations. It’s easier to execute against specific plans in focused areas rather than vague desires. In order to assess and ensure that the time we spend is consistent with our values on all aspects of our lives, we need a tool to evaluate and track our progress in all areas of our life, this allows us to make informed decisions, set meaningful goals, and align our actions with our desired outcomes. Warren Buffet relates an interesting way he approaches this, he says:

“The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard.” — Warren Buffett

Warren Buffet advocates for an “inner scorecard” which functions as a personal measure of success and self-evaluation. Most people don’t know how to create one.  Paul J. Meyer, a renowned motivational speaker and self-improvement advocate, introduced the Wheel of Life concept as a tool to help individuals assess and enhance different areas of their lives. This powerful framework provides a visual representation of various life dimensions, encouraging individuals to strive for balance and personal growth. By embracing Meyer's Wheel of Life, we embark on a transformative journey towards achieving holistic success and fulfillment.

The Wheel of Life is a simple yet powerful tool to assess your life. Many executive coaches have new clients complete this in the first meeting. This exercise is a great way to assess and then get specific about your wishes. 

The wheel is divided into various categories that represent different aspects of life. These categories are typically represented as sections or slices of the wheel. For example:

• Health - Are you prioritizing regular physical activity? Are you nourishing our bodies with healthy food choices? 
• Career - Are you pursuing a career that aligns with your interests and strengths? Are you setting meaningful goals for professional growth? 
• Money  - Are you setting realistic financial goals? Are you managing debt effectively?
• Where you live -  Do you have access to opportunities for personal and professional growth? Do you live in a supportive community with like-minded individuals that can provide a network of encouragement, motivation, and inspiration?

Most people don’t know how to create one for themselves. Here is how: 

First: Slice the Wheel of Life in a meaningful way to you

Rename any section to something more relevant to your life.  For example, some people like to change Health to the following subcategories: Nutrition, Strength, Flexibility, Stress, or Sleep.

Second:  View the center of the wheel as a 0 and the outer edges as a 10. 

Now rank your level of satisfaction with each area by giving the section a number and shading it in accordingly. The rating scale represents the individual's current level of satisfaction, fulfillment, or progress in that particular area.

Third: Make improvements

After this assessment, most people find that they do not have a round wheel. Some sections are more complete than others. Round wheels roll best. It is hard to make improvements in many places at once. Pick no more than 2 areas to work on.  

Fourth: Ask yourself: What does a 9 of 10 look like in each area? 

If you can determine what a 9-10 is in each of your areas, you have defined what winning YOUR game looks like. Pick a reasonable timeframe for your goals. Treat getting to a 10 in each area like a game. Resist the pull of other peoples’ scorecards. If you have a partner, do the exercise together. Repeat this exercise 1-2 times per year to track progress.

Conclusion

The Wheel of Life exercise is not a one-time evaluation but a tool for ongoing monitoring and adjustment. As you make changes and progress in one dimension, the power is in revisiting the exercise periodically to reassess your satisfaction levels and identify new areas for improvement. This cyclical process promotes continuous growth and allows you to adapt their priorities as life circumstances evolve.  Let us dare to be specific, to ask with clarity, and to take inspired action.