The Wheel of Life is a flexible tool used by individuals and life coaches around the world. Those who are new to this assessment tool sometimes have questions regarding the different Wheel of Life categories utilized within it.
For instance, how many categories should one have and does it matter which ones you pick?
I will answer these questions (and more!) in the article, but for those wanting a short answer, here it is: you can adjust the categories as you wish – the important thing is that they fit your individual life situation and values. It’s all about creating a balanced life that feels meaningful and fulfilling to you.
If you’re in a hurry, here’s a short summary of what’s covered in this article.
Key Points:
- The Life Wheel typically includes eight (8) categories: Health, Career/Business, Finance, Personal Growth, Relationships/Family, Recreation/Fun, Physical Environment, and Spirituality.
- The importance of each category varies based on individual situations and values.
- There is no fixed order for placing the categories on the Wheel.
- The ultimate goal is to achieve a balanced and fulfilling life based on personal priorities.
- Variations of the classic Wheel of Life have been created by individuals such as Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar with his Wheel of Balance, and Hal Elrod with his Level 10 Life. Despite differences in naming and slight variations in categories, the core concept remains consistent across all versions.
- Links to the Wheel of Life templates at the end of the article.
How Many Categories Can a Wheel of Life Have?
A standard Wheel of Life typically includes eight categories: Health, Career/Business, Finance, Personal Growth, Relationships/Family, Recreation/Fun, Physical Environment, and Spirituality.
Later in this article we will delve into the variations of the Wheel of Life, introduced by renowned coaches such as Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar. These variations may include only seven categories.
Also, other versions like the Level 10 Life, which features 10 categories, will be examined in the end of this article.
For those interested, I have created editable Canva templates for these different Wheel of Life variations, which are available for purchase in my Etsy shop.
Remember, the Wheel of Life is a flexible tool. You can customize it to suit your needs. If it makes sense for you, you could even have only five categories. There’s no need to strictly follow a set structure. The most important thing is that the tool effectively helps you identify areas in your life that need improvement.
What’s the Purpose of Categories?
The categories in the Life Balance Wheel are like different parts of your life.
Here is why they are important:
- Whole Picture: They help you see your life as a whole, not just one part at a time.
- Check Yourself: They help you understand what’s going well and what needs improvement in your life.
- Set Goals: They can guide you in setting goals to improve specific parts of your life.
- Balance: They show you if you’re paying too much attention to some parts of your life and not enough to others.
- Track Changes: Over time, they let you see how different parts of your life have changed or improved.
Basically, these categories help you understand your life better, balance different parts of your life, and track how things are changing or improving.
The Wheel of Life Categories: The Classic 8-Spokes Wheel
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, a typical Wheel of Life is split into 8 parts.
Let’s look what the categories are and what they mean.
Health
This category covers your overall physical well-being, including fitness, nutrition, and rest.
- Importance: Health remains relevant throughout one’s life. However, the specifics might change; for example, a younger person might focus more on fitness, while an older person might prioritize preventive care and management of chronic conditions.
- Common Problems: Unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, inadequate rest, and neglecting regular health check-ups are usual issues.
- How to Improve: Regular physical activity, balanced eating habits, maintaining good sleep hygiene, and routine health check-ups can help.
Career/Business
This category revolves around your profession or business. It reflects your job satisfaction, career progression, and work-life balance.
- Importance: This category’s relevance might lessen for people who are retired, have achieved financial independence, or are focusing on home-making or child-rearing. Alternatively, it could be of higher relevance to someone climbing the career ladder or starting a business.
- Common Problems: Challenges could include job dissatisfaction, a feeling of stagnation in your career, high stress levels, or difficulty achieving work-life balance.
- How to Improve: To improve this aspect, seek professional growth opportunities, set and pursue career goals, consider job changes if unhappy, seek mentorship, and strive for a balance between work and personal life.
Finance
This part of your life reflects your financial stability, including savings, investments, and debt management.
- Importance: For people with stable, high income or accumulated wealth, financial stress may be less relevant. For people in the early stages of their career or those who are less financially secure, this category might be more pertinent.
- Common Problems: Debt, inadequate savings, lack of retirement planning, and limited financial literacy.
- How to Improve: Create a budget, learn about investments, save regularly, and seek advice from a financial advisor.
Personal Growth
This category involves your self-improvement and learning, including acquiring new skills and knowledge.
- Importance: The relevance of this category might increase for people in a transitional phase of their life, like changing careers, returning to school, or embarking on a self-improvement journey.
- Common Problems: Procrastination, fear of change, lack of ambition, and limited self-awareness.
- How to Improve: Engage in broad reading, take up a hobby, attend seminars or workshops, learn new skills, and practice mindfulness and self-reflection.
Relationships/Family
This category concerns your interpersonal relationships, from family and friends to romantic partners.
- Importance: The emphasis here can fluctuate based on individual life situations. For instance, someone single might focus more on friendships and dating, whereas someone with children might prioritize parenting.
- Common Problems: Communication breakdowns, unresolved conflicts, insufficient time for loved ones, and lack of support systems.
- How to Improve: Improve communication skills, spend quality time with loved ones, resolve conflicts proactively, and build strong support systems.
Recreation/Fun
This area is all about your hobbies, relaxation, and leisure activities.
- Importance: This category might have higher relevance for people who value experiences and leisure, or those with more free time. Those with heavy work or family responsibilities might find this category less relevant in certain periods of life.
- Common Problems: Lack of free time, over-emphasizing work at the expense of relaxation, or lacking hobbies.
- How to Improve: Schedule regular leisure time, try new hobbies, ensure you balance work and fun.
Physical Environment
This aspect involves your surroundings, your home, your neighborhood, and your level of comfort in those spaces.
- Importance: This can be more relevant for people who spend a lot of time at home, like remote workers or homemakers, or for those with specific needs like disabilities or health conditions. It might be less crucial for those who are often away from home or enjoy living in different places.
- Common Problems: Clutter, noise, lack of personal space, or living in an unsafe area.
- How to Improve: Regularly clean and declutter, make home improvements, ensure your living environment is safe and comfortable.
Spirituality
This category covers your beliefs, values, and practices related to meaning and purpose in life.
- Importance: It can be a central part of life for some, while others might not engage much with it, depending on personal beliefs and experiences.
- Common Problems: Lack of purpose, feeling disconnected, or ethical confusion.
- How to Improve: Practice meditation, engage with a religious community if that aligns with your beliefs, spend time in nature, or volunteer to help others.
Is There a Certain Order for the Categories in the Wheel of Life?
No, there’s no set order for the categories in the Life Wheel. The order doesn’t affect the result. The main thing is to include all important areas of your life and think about each of them.
You might like to put similar categories next to each other, like Health and Physical Environment, or Career/Business and Finance. This could make it easier to understand and plan. The Wheel of Life should help you see how balanced your life is and what parts you’re happy with.
I have a separate article on how to complete the wheel of life. Check it out if you need more details.
Tony Robbins’ Wheel of Life Categories
One of the most well-known advocates of the Wheel of Life is self-help guru Tony Robbins. Tony Robbins’ version of the Wheel of Life puts extra emphasis on things like your feelings, how you manage your time, and how you help others. It underscores Robbins’ belief in the importance of emotional fulfillment, productivity, and the value of giving back to society.
The 7 categories included in Tony Robbins’ Wheel of Life are the following:
- Health & Vitality: This refers to physical health, fitness, and overall well-being.
- Mind & Meaning: This represents emotional health, happiness, and fulfillment.
- Love & Relationships: This involves personal relationships, including family, friends, and romantic partnerships.
- Productivity & Performance: This pertains to time management, productivity, and work-life balance.
- Career & Business: This involves professional life, career development, and alignment with one’s life purpose or mission.
- Wealth & Lifestyle: This reflects financial security, wealth-building, and financial independence.
- Leadership & Impact: This category includes celebration of life’s milestones and achievements, as well as contributing to society or helping others.
If you are looking for an editable in Canva 7-area Wheel of Life template, you can get it in my Etsy shop.
Zig Ziglar’s Wheel of Life Categories
Another famous proponent of the Wheel of Life was the late Zig Ziglar who became a famous motivational speaker after a successful career in sales. Zig Ziglar’s version of Wheel of Life, also called “The Wheel of Balance,” has seven parts, one less than the usual eight. It pays special attention to your mind, your spirit, and your family and personal life. Unlike some other wheels, it separates ‘Family’ and ‘Personal’ life into two parts, suggesting that both family responsibilities and taking care of yourself are important.
Here are the categories in Zig Ziglar’s Wheel of Life:
- Mental: This category is about your mental health, learning, and intellectual growth.
- Spiritual: This focuses on your spiritual beliefs, values, and peace of mind.
- Physical: This pertains to your physical health, fitness, and well-being.
- Family: This category involves your relationships with family members and how you balance your family life.
- Financial: This reflects your financial security, savings, and investment.
- Personal: This category is about self-care, hobbies, and personal interests that contribute to your happiness.
- Career: This involves your professional life, job satisfaction, and career development.
If you are looking for an 7-spokes Wheel of Life Canva template, you can get it in my Etsy shop.
Level 10 Life Categories
Hal Elrod’s Level 10 Life version of the Wheel of Life encourages you to aim for a ’10’ in each area of your life. This concept highlights the significance of self-improvement and personal satisfaction. It reinforces Elrod’s idea of striving for the highest level of excellence in each aspect of your life.
The 10 categories included in Level 10 Life are the following:
- Health & Fitness: This refers to physical health, exercise, and overall well-being.
- Personal Growth & Development: This category focuses on continual learning, skills development, and self-improvement.
- Money & Finance: This involves financial security, wealth-building, and financial independence.
- Career & Business: This includes professional growth, job satisfaction, and alignment with one’s career goals or mission.
- Fun & Recreation: This emphasizes the importance of leisure activities, hobbies, and overall enjoyment in life.
- Physical Environment: This refers to the comfort, safety, and suitability of your living and work spaces.
- Romance & Relationships: This focuses on maintaining fulfilling relationships, including family, friends, and romantic partnerships.
- Contribution & Giving: This highlights the value of contributing to society, volunteering, and helping others.
- Spirituality: This category involves your spiritual beliefs, inner peace, and ethical values.
- Family & Friends: This pertains to the quality of your relationships with family and close friends.
Looking for a Wheel of Life template? I have two 10-spokes templates in my shop: editable in Canva and printable for personal use.
The categories in the Wheel of Life can vary based on who’s using it, and you can even create your own categories that better reflect your personal priorities. The key is to make sure it covers all the essential areas of life that contribute to your overall well-being.
Wheel of Life Templates
Looking for a wheel of life template? You can get a variety of Wheel of Life templates in my Etsy shop:
- 7, 8, 9, 10-sections Wheel of Life Canva Templates
- Balanced Life Goal Planner template
- Wheel of Life Worksheets (ready-to-use for self-improvement or in coaching sessions)
