Using the Wheel of Wellness to Balance Your Life

Do you feel like something is missing in your life, but you can't quite put your finger on it? Do you feel out of balance? Does it feel like you are constantly exhausted and burned out?

If you feel this way, it is likely that you have been neglecting one of the key aspects of your life. The trick is, to figure out which one.

To do this, you can use the Wheel of Wellness.

You can print out the worksheet in the graphic, then fill in each category by coloring in how 'full' you feel like that section of your life is. That means, you want to determine your level of happiness in each area of your life. If you feel like you have a good social life, for example, then you would want to color that section all the way in.

According to Princeton,

The Wellness Wheel describes the integration of 7 important dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual.

This link also provides an online assessment link, or a printable PDF version that you can fill out once you are finished learning more about all the dimensions of wellness. This allows you to calculate scores that show how fulfilled you are in each area of your life. The answers can provide direction on what you want to work on next in your life.

Overview of the Wheel of Wellness

We tend to think of our wellness as merely our physical wellness. Are you healthy, or are you sick? But there is more to it than that. The other dimensions of wellness can determine your mental and physical health as well as other areas that are key to forming a happy and well rounded life.

The Wheel of Wellness was originally created in 1976 by Bill Hetter to measure the health of college students. Now, it is used by many health professionals, such as therapists and life coaches, to measure the health of their clients. This can be a helpful assessment to measure where you are at in different aspects of your life.

According to News Medical, here is an overview of each of the dimensions of wellness:

Intellectual ––measures the degree to which a person engages with creative and stimulating activities; an intellectually well person makes the best use of available resources to expand upon their knowledge and skills

Physical ­––measures the degree to which a person looks after their cardiovascular health and is mindful of following a healthy diet

Emotional ––an awareness and acceptance of one’s own feelings; the degree of positivity and enthusiasm about life

Spiritual ––the commitment to seeking meaning and purpose in human existence; a deep awareness of the depth and expanse of life and an appreciation of the natural forces in existence in the universe

Occupational ––a measure of work satisfaction and the amount of enrichment interconnected with this

Social ––the degree to which an individual contributes to his or her community; this parameter emphasizes interconnectedness with others and with the natural world

By keeping all these aspects of your life in balance, you can be happier, healthier and more well rounded. It allows you to lead a balanced and intentional life that is focused on your goals and values. By bringing your whole being into balance, you can experience mind-body-spirit wellness.

According to Talkspace,

It is a good tool to revisit periodically as our lifestyles and habits might change over time. The goal of using the wellness wheel is to highlight ways you can adjust your life to reach a sense of balance.

For example, if you have set a goal to work on your social wellness, you may start by trying to join clubs, go to coffee dates, or make friends at work. As you work on this goal, you can revisit the Wheel of Wellness to determine if your goal has been successful in helping you feel more balanced.

Wheel of Wellness gives you direction

Since the Wheel of Wellness can help you pinpoint areas of your life that aren't doing as well as others, this is a good starting point for goal setting. By determining what areas of your life need attention or have been neglected in the past, you can begin to focus more on those areas to bring your life into balance.

Taking the direction that the Wheel of Wellness is pointing in can help you to move forward and take control of your life.

Once you have done this exercise, you can journal about what you think your next steps should be. Then, you can format the journal session into more formal goals, to determine what to do next.

Here are some tips on How to Set SMARTer Goals, so You Can Make Your Dreams a Reality.

The Wheel of Wellness is a great place to start with your self improvement or personal development journey. It gives you a baseline of where you are now in life that you can revisit at a later time.

You can also read more about How Mind, Body and Spirit Wellness Help You to Be the Best Version of Yourself.

I hope this gives you some idea of where to start with your own personal development journey. After you have done this exercise, you will be well on your way towards knowing which aspects of your life need more of your attention.

Originally published on www.millenialmom.net on August 4, 2023