Need help setting priorities?
Most of us want to change or improve areas of our lives and sometimes need a little help figuring out where to start. A major part of my role as a life coach is helping clients set priorities and I use a document called the Life Wheel that I completed during my certification class with the Certified Life Coach Institute for that purpose. To set priorities, we need to understand our current situation as it relates to five areas of life: Life Purpose, Business Life, Creative Life, Social Life, and Love Life and we do that by ranking our satisfaction with each area from 1 to 10 with 1 being least satisfied and 10 most satisfied. Let me take some time to walk you through this process.
In measuring your satisfaction with your purpose in life, ask yourself the question, “Do I know what my role is in my family, my community, my friend group, at work, and in the world?” That is a very big question that can be answered by reflecting on two areas, the first is growth and learning. Are there qualities, skills, or knowledge that you would like to improve or expand? For me, part of my life purpose is being a life coach and to do that, I needed to increase my skills in the area of coaching. The second area is spirituality. Do you want to increase your connection to something bigger than yourself?
The second area is business life which is broken down into money & finance and career & work. Assessment of business life is more straightforward than life purpose. For example, do you want to increase your savings? Or perhaps you want to expand your knowledge of investing. How satisfied are you with the work that you do and your career? Would you like to do something new? Do you know where your career is leading you?
Creative life is the third area and includes health & fitness and fun & recreation. Are you satisfied with your overall health? Are you having enough fun and enjoying non-work-related activities?
The next area for assessment is your social life and it is divided into two areas, environment and community. Does your environment, perhaps the place you live and work, provide meaningful social opportunities? Is your community, the people you interact with, also providing opportunities to socialize? As an example, if you work from home five days a week, you may feel socially isolated and rank your environment as a 2.
Your love life is the last area to assess and is categorized as family & friends and partners & love. Do you have meaningful relationships with your family and friends? Are you satisfied with how often you interact with them? Do you have a partner you share your life with and is that relationship loving?
It is important to remember that this is an assessment of your life that will show you those areas you need to prioritize for change and improvement. The next step in your journey is identifying activities that will improve the things you have prioritized. Good luck and, if you want a copy of the Life Wheel, send me an email!