Take Stock of Your Wholebeing
In 2020 we were all faced with the unusual challenge of being confined to our homes and being forced to come up with new ways to occupy our time…and minds. I believe one of the silver linings was the opportunity to reflect on our lives and determine what was and wasn’t working for us and what we really want our lives to look like going forward.
I’m guessing that a lot of us latched on to the obvious big rocks of job or home and immediately went about changing them. I’m curious how people feel about those changes two years later. For most people, I believe those changes had huge impacts on their lives – hopefully positive. But for some, the changes might not have resolved the unease. This tends to happen when we look at symptoms and not really look at our life as a whole – to not really analyze where we are now and where we’d really like to be.
Today I’d like to share a helpful exercise you can do on a regular basis to take stock of the areas of your life so you can foster a healthier wholebeing. I recommend doing this individually and as a family quarterly or annually to stay the course toward the life you’d love.
The Wellness Wheel Exercise
This exercise is a way to look at your current wellness state to see where you might need more self-care. Different areas may require different methods and resources. You can fluctuate over time in each area depending on current circumstances as well.
Now as you know, I prefer my “network” diagram over the traditional wellness wheel when talking about wellness in general, but for the purpose of this exercise, the wheel works best.
Define Thriving
The first thing to do is to define your ideal state in each wellness area. What does thriving look and feel like in your family life? What does thriving look and feel like at work? How about with your health? What are the emotions you want to experience? What are the things you want to do? Get as descriptive as possible so you know what your north star is.
Rate Your Health
Now that you know what thriving looks like, rate where you are today. On a scale of 1-10 where one is suffering and ten is thriving, highlight the line in each area indicating your current state of wellness. Then, connect the lines or fill in the wedge to get a visual of your overall wholebeing.
Environmental Health: Occupying spaces and places that are enjoyable and stimulating
Familial Health: Having safe, healthy, positive values, relationships, and experiences amongst the members of the family
Financial Health: Being satisfied with current and future financial situations
Intellectual Health: Recognizing talents and creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills
Mental Health: Handling thinking and behavior, especially during change and difficulty
Occupational Health: Having satisfaction and enrichment from your work
Physical Health: Taking care of the health of your body
Social Health: Developing healthy, supportive, and rewarding relationships and participating in activities for fun and relaxation
Spiritual Health: Being connected to something greater than yourself that provide a sense of purpose and meaning to life
Focus Your Attention
The natural thing to do for many people is to start making changes all over the place all at once. But I encourage you to slow down and take your time. Sit with your wheel and listen to your intuition. Where does your energy want to start? Where will small changes have the most effect? Or what areas are most vital? Choose one or two areas to focus on at a time so you can notice the effect the changes have on your life, and you can savor those changes and gain momentum.
Whether you start by moving satisfactory areas toward thriving or struggling areas toward the middle is entirely up to you and your circumstances. And if the opportunity to make an easy change arises in an area you’re not focusing on, it’s fine to make that change as well. Just don’t try to boil the ocean if you know what I mean.
Maintaining Momentum
Depending on what you're trying to do, how far you’re trying to go and the changes you’re trying to make, the time this exercise takes and the energy required will vary. Regardless, I encourage you to build a support system of trusted friends, professionals, and/or support groups. Practices like planning and journaling are helpful as well. And by all means, give yourself grace and reward yourself! Change is hard! And making lasting changes is even harder. So do whatever you need to do to reflect on how far you’ve come, reward yourself for the progress you’ve made, and keep looking forward to that thriving life ahead of you!
Need Help?
I’d love to walk with you on your journey to thriving! If you’d like the help of a coach to keep you encouraged and motivated, let’s chat. Set up a free coaching exploration with me to get started!
