The Wheel of Life, also known as the Life Balance Wheel, Wellness Wheel or Level 10 Life, is a simple yet powerful self-assessment tool that has been widely embraced by coaches and the self-help community.
Despite its many names, the core function remains the same: it provides a holistic snapshot of your life, assisting you in identifying areas that require more attention to create harmony and balance.
Well-known coaches like Tony Robbins and coaching industry pioneer Paul J. Meyer have championed this tool, evidencing its long-standing and widespread use.
In this article, you will:
- learn what a wheel of life is, understand what life areas it consists of and how to use it as a self-assessment tool
- get a free printable wheel of life template (link at the end of this post)
- get a discount code if you are looking for a fully customisable Canva template to use for yourself or your business
Key Takeaways
- The Wheel of Life is an exercise often used in coaching and personal development to assess life balance.
- It involves evaluating various life domains and using the visual representation to identify areas needing improvement.
- Using the Wheel of Life involves setting new goals and yourself or working with a coach to develop a plan for increased life satisfaction.
What is a Wheel of Life?
The Wheel of Life is a visual tool that you can use for self-assessment. It helps you reflect on various aspects of your life, pinpoint any imbalances, and strategize improvements. Think of it as a circle divided into sections, each representing a different part of your life, like health, career, relationships, and so on.
Wheel of Life is a powerful exercize designed to help you take a step back, look at your life holistically, and figure out areas that might need a bit more love and attention.
Using the Life Wheel might seem easy, but trust me, it can get quite intense. It’s like taking a deep dive into yourself, laying bare how you truly feel about each aspect of your life. This isn’t just another item on your daily checklist but a profound process of self-discovery.
Let’s imagine, you’ve been channeling your energies into your work but you’ve noticed that your health or relationships section on your Wheel of Life is looking a little lackluster. This is where the Wheel of Life assessment comes to your rescue. It’s a gentle nudge, a visual reminder saying, “Hey, maybe you need to focus a little more here!”
But here’s the thing, life isn’t a perfect ten all the time. And that’s okay! You’re not supposed to excel in every single area. Life isn’t about perfection, it’s about balance. The aim of the Wheel of Life isn’t to score top marks in every section, but to ensure that none of the areas are neglected and you’re overall happy with how things are going. After all, we’re all trying to create a life that feels balanced and is uniquely ours, aren’t we?
How To Make a Wheel of Life Template?
- DIY Approach: Draw a circle and evenly divide it into 8 sections. Label each section with a specific area of your life. You can do this by hand or using a design tool of your choice.
- Ready-Made Templates: If you’re short on time or want a professionally designed template, I’ve got you covered! I have designed 10 unique Wheel of Life templates. You can find them in the “Wheel of Life” section of my Etsy shop. For those interested in acquiring multiple designs, there’s a special bundle offer: use the coupon code CANVAWHEELOFLIFE to get a 20% discount. The best part? These templates are for commercial use. That means you can brand them as your own and utilize them in your business or coaching.
- Free Printable: Not looking to spend? No problem! I’ve also designed a pre-filled Wheel of Life printable with 8 distinct areas for personal use. It’s available for download at the end of this post. Simply hit the download button, and it’s yours to use.
Preview of the Free Printable
Below is a sneak peek of the free Wheel of Life worksheet.
Wheel of Life Printable PDF: Blank and Pre-Filled
This Wheel of Life is a printable PDF. You can choose between two distinct versions: the 8-section wheel and the 10-section wheel. Additionally, each version is available in either a blank format or with predefined categories.
Opting for the blank version is ideal if you prefer to personally select the areas of life you would like to access.
Wheel of Life Worksheet: Editable in Canva
Are you looking for an editable in Canva Wheel of Life worksheet? Get a jump start with my 100% customizable Canva template. No need to start from scratch and wasting your time on layering circles and other elements! Canva lets you tweak every detail, from fonts and colors to anything you see, really.
If you’re not a designer, don’t worry. My template takes away the tough parts, so you can focus on what matters most: your business and your brand. This Wheel of Life Bundle is the original Wheel of Life design – a fan-favorite on Etsy for 3+ years!
What’s Inside?
- 7 unique wheel designs: four with 8 areas, one with 9 areas, and two with 10 areas.
- Complete customization freedom: adjust text, fonts, colors, or add graphics as you like.
- Tried and tested quality: crafted with love and attention to detail.
Take a look below for a sneak peek at the templates. You’ll see exactly what’s on offer.
Special Offer! To sweeten the deal, website visitors get a 20% discount. Interested? Use the code CANVAWHEELOFLIFE at checkout in my shop. The offer is valid for this bundle only. I’m sure you’ll love it!
NEW in my shop! Wheel of Life coaching worksheets. More information here.
8 Common Wheel of Life Areas
The classic Wheel of Life is divided into 8 key areas of life. However, you shouldn’t feel constrained with the predefined amount categories and their labels. It is a visual representation of YOUR life, of the things you value and care about.
If a detailed Wheel of Life makes you feel anxious and overwhelmed, you can create fewer categories so you can focus on bigger areas of life.
If you feel that you what more specific categories, you can either add additional categories or split existing ones into more narrow areas.
There aren’t right or wrong types of categories. The Wheel of Life (or Life Balance Wheel) is 100% your vision and not anybody else’s.
The classic wheel of life includes the following areas of life:
- Business & Career: Alternative labels include Vocation, Work, Business, Motherhood, Fatherhood, Parenting, Volunteering, etc.
Questions to ask yourself:
– How happy and fulfilled are you by your work?
– Is your business/career thriving or not?
– Where is it right now? Where would you like it to be? - Finances: Other label ideas include Money, Wealth, Financial Security and Financial Wellbeing.
Questions to ask yourself:
– How comfortable do you feel about your financial situation?
– How is your financial education?
– How does your bank/savings accounts look like?
– Do you manage your finances effectively?
– How would you like to feel about your financial status?
- Health & Fitness: Alternatives include Wellbeing, Fitness, Body, Physical. This category could also be split into Physical Health and Emotional Health, in addition it can include Spiritual Health.
Questions to ask yourself:
– How happy are you with your overall health?
– How do you feel about your energy levels and vitality?
– Do you exercise regularly?
– Do you think that you are at the athletics level that you would like to be?
– Are you happy with the general state of your physical body? - Family & Friends: Alternative labels might be Community, Social Life. Family and Friends category can be split into separate categories of “Family” and “Friends”.
Questions to ask yourself:
– How is your relationship with your family and friends?
– Do you spend enough time with them? Do you feel connected to them? - Relationship: Alternatives include Dating, Intimate Life, Significant Other, Significant Other, Life Partner.
Questions to ask yourself:
– How would you rate your life with your partner/your loved one?
– Is it a romantic life?
– Do you spend enough time together?
– Do you understand each other?
– Do you express yourself well enough to be understood?
– Do you love and feel loved? - Personal Development: Alternatives include Learning, Self-Development, Personal Growth or Spiritual.
– How do you see yourself growing as an individual?
– Do you think you are investing enough in your personal growth? - Fun & Recreation: Some other ideas for this category label include Leisure Time, Hobbies, Sports, Play, Creativity and Enjoyment.
Questions to ask yourself:
– Do you let yourself to spend enough time to rest, have fun and rejuvenate? - Physical Environment: Other labels for this category could be simply “Home”, “House” or “Apartment”. The category could be split into two for work and home environments. It is especially important right now when many people start working from home.
Questions to ask yourself:
When it comes to people, ask yourself a question whether the people you live with, work with or spend your time with make you feel good. Do you like what kind of people you are around? Do you feel nourished when around these people or do they drain your energy?
If you have never made your own Wheel of Life before and are a beginner when it comes to life evolution and self-assessment, you probably want to start with 8 predefined categories. With time, you might want to tweak the categories to better match your core values.
Remember that you can customize the categories by simply giving them other names that feel more right for YOU and/or splitting an existing category into two or more.
Additional Wheel of Life Areas
It is highly recommended that you put some extra thought into what categories you would like to see in your Wheel of Life. There are many assessment questions you might want to ask when considering your overall happiness. In addition to the commonly used areas, here are some ideas for additional areas you can assess:
- Contribution to Community
- Security
- Planning for Future
- Spirituality and Spiritual Growth
- Religion
- Mental State
- Sense of Self
- Creativity
- Attitude
- Lifestyle
- Leadership
- Achievement
- etc.
How To Use Your Wheel Of Life
Still not sure how to use your Wheel of Life? To make it easier for you, I have tried to create an easy step-by-step that should help you successfully complete your own Wheel of Life.
How to use the Wheel of Life
- Decide which areas of life you want to assess
When assessing the balance in your life you should start by choosing what areas, or categories, you want to include. See above for more ideas.
- Set priorities for areas of life
When you have labeled each part of the wheel, now it’s time to set priorities for your areas. Which area is the most important for you right now? Which one comes second? Which one third?
If, for instance, you feel that Family & Friends is the most important area for you right now, write number 1 close to the label. Continue until you have ranked all of the areas based on their importance in your life. - Rate each area of your life on a scale from 1 to 10
Now, evaluate on a scale from 1 to 10 where you are at for each area of your life. When you have thought of the score for a certain area, color in that section.
For example, if the score is ten, you color in the whole section. If the score is 1, then only color in the first part of the circle. - Set a goal for each area of your life
Now that you have assessed each area of your life, you are ready to set your goals, ie. where you want to be in the future.
Setting your goals makes it easy to see the gap between your current situation and the desired one. - Analysis
Try to establish whether there are any interconnected areas in your wheel. Are there areas that could be worked on at the same time? Are there poorly-balanced areas that affect other areas of your life negatively?
- Make an actionable plan
The final and most important step is to make yourself a simple action plan for each area. How can you improve it? What needs to be done to bring the score to the desired level?
Final words of advice: when filling in your very own Wheel of Life, the hardest part is to HONESTLY answer the questions when rating each area of your life. You should access each area based on the real life situation and not based on what you think you “should” answer.
Conclusion
The Wheel of Life, a.k.a. Life Balance Wheel gives a holistic view on where the person is in their journey and what needs to be done in order to make progress towards a happier and more harmonious life. It is no wonder that many self-help gurus such as Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar have used versions of this tool.
Sometimes you might think that you have a problem in one area of life but the exercise shows you a totally different perspective.
