I hope 2018 started off for you on a positive note. As a new year’s gift, I would like to share a simple but extremely effective tool that can lead you to your success.
This tool is referred to as ‘The Wheel of Life’. It is a simple training tool, very easy to use, is useful and effective. Unfortunately, most people who are taught to use this don’t internalise it and therefore, do not practice it.
My recommendation is that a person should do this at least once a year, if not more frequently. This is one of the many inputs I have shared in my book Out Of Syllabus , which details inputs for career and personal success.
Let us now move on to ‘The Wheel of Life’.
First, draw a circle and within it, four lines. Mark these lines to indicate a rating scale of 0 to 10 (as shown in the illustration below). On this scale, 0 is the lowest and 10 is the highest.
You will end up having eight points of reference on the circle. These represent the various aspects of a person’s life, as mentioned in the illustration. However, they can be customised based on individual preferences.
Public life pertains to all your professional activities such as career and academics. Support system refers to your close friends and relatives whom you can fall back on in times of need.
Finance relates to how well you manage money. This should not be confused with earning, which happens through public life endeavours. Finance is all about managing the money earned, about investing, keeping control over expenses and other important aspects.
You might be confused between hobby and entertainment, so I will explain the differences. A hobby is a pursuit which involves high levels of interest and passion. It requires involvement and effort. Entertainment, on the other hand, is passive relaxation. It doesn’t require one to be passionate or involved. Hobby can be entertaining and even become a person’s career or vocation. Entertainment, however, does not have that potential.
All the other aspects are, I presume, self explanatory and need no detailing.
The next step is to rate each of these aspects with regard to how satisfied you are in each of them. For example, if you feel that your health is not very satisfactory, you can rate it 5 or lesser. If you are doing well in your public life, rate it between seven and 9. Mark an ‘X’ on each of the lines at the point corresponding to the rating.
The important thing to keep in mind is that the rating must be done in a realistic manner and as objectively as possible.