“Desires are not hopes, nor are they dreams. They are potentials to be unearthed and brought to fruition.” – Raymond Charles Barker
Week Thirty Three
You have invested a lot in yourself so far, discovering who you are, and connecting with your inner wisdom to find out what really drives and motivates you. Now, it is time to have some fun letting your imagination go, designing where you would like to be.
In this exercise you will begin to list all the ways you can build a bridge between the life you are currently living and the life you aspire to live. This allows you to elaborate on the life you wish to live and the path you will take to get there. When completing these questions, allow yourself to be inventive and detail everything that comes up through your inquiry, even the things that you consider unrealistic. Keep a completely open mind and don’t disregard options because of your doubts (the sense that “you can’t”).
I invite you to block out an hour of undisturbed time to take a closer look at the gaps between your current reality and the one that awaits you. (You can schedule a second time block if you find that more is needed.)
This wheel contains eight sections that, together, represent one way of envisioning a whole life. It is not the only way and if you prefer you could also consider additional areas or split up areas into categories that are more meaningful for you. You might also consider redrawing the wheel, re-sizing the sections according to the importance each area holds for you.
| Career / Work: Your vocation, the quality of this time, the direction it is taking, its purpose and meaning for you, your overall performance. |
| Money / Finances: Budgeting, saving, income, investment and your overall relationship to finance. |
| Health / Well-being: Your eating habits, diet, fitness, sleep, relaxation, self care and emotional health. |
| Friends / Family: Your community relationships in general and their incorporation, quality and support. |
| Intimate Relationships: Romance, partnership, communication, space, and sex. |
| Personal Growth: Education, learning, reading, awareness, connecting, and spirituality. |
| Fun / Recreation: Leisure, hobbies, passion, and laughter. |
| Physical Environment: The appearance and feel of your home, locality, space and transportation. |
1) Once you have re-produced the wheel in a way that makes most sense to you, take the time to rate your satisfaction in each area. Make this rating not with reference to a past time or desired future time, but according to how satisfied you are right now at the current time.
a. Use a scale of 0 to 10 where zero means completely unsatisfied and ten means fully satisfied.
b. For each section, note the reasons for the rating you gave.
2) After you have rated each section, draw a line around the circumference along each sections rating and consider the following:
a. If this wheel were on your bicycle, how bumpy would the ride be?
b. What can you do to increase your satisfaction in the lower-rated areas, for a smoother and more balanced ride?
Examining your life through this lens will provide insight into which areas of your life are working well and which areas, with some adjustments, will bring you greater happiness.
3) Select the area you would like to address first, where you want to thrive, and note reasons for the rating you gave.
4) Imagine you have been transported to your life several years in the future, and the area you have just selected is now exactly as you wish. You have successfully implemented changes to reach your ideal. Describe all aspects of your future as it unfolds using the present tense.
5) Staying with your vision of this area as fully realized, look back and describe:
a. The steps that you took.
b. The changes that you made.
c. The practices that you established to get there.
Repeat 3) – 5) for the remaining areas in your wheel of life.
This exercise like your wish list and value identification is a great one to refer back to from time to time to see what’s changed and evolved. You are owning the person you wish to be. With this acknowledgement of what is possible and by releasing your hold on where you are you can begin to rapidly implement these changes.