The Importance of Alignment: Balancing the Wheels of Your Life
Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash
Sometimes I feel like I’m falling. Sometimes I feel like I’m leaning to one side. Sometimes I feel like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. Sometimes I feel heavy.
Sometimes, I simply feel out of balance, out of whack, unstable.
It’s not just the standard work/life balance that feels “off.” It’s every area of my life that feels “off”and unhealthy—eating, exercise, community, hobbies, work, family, marriage, spiritual life, sleep, mindfulness, etc.
Where do I find that center place? Where do I find that inner stability? Where do I find that healthy life balance?
I started by looking online. Maybe there was a self-assessment that I could take to help evaluate where I was. If I was stuck, then I, at least, needed to find out where I was. The next phase would be to find out where I wanted and needed to be, then to identify the steps to get there—the goals, the objectives.
Where Am I?
It didn’t take me long to find something. The University of California, Irvine offered a free online test through their Center for Student Wellness and Health Promotion. I wasn’t a college-age student, but I was still desperate for wellness and health.
The image on the assessment download was intriguing: a wheel, preceded by the words:
“A wheel runs most smoothly when well balanced.”
When I saw the image and read the quote, I remembered the warning lights that had displayed on my car’s dashboard. Apparently, one of my tires needed some air. Because the air pressure in the four tires was not the same, the car wasn’t running well.
I guess that same idea applied to my life. If my life wasn’t running smoothly, maybe my wheels (or my tires!) weren’t running well. My life was unbalanced—kind of like it was missing some spokes on its wheel that were needed to provide inner stability and strength.
The assessment wheel was divided into six sections, each with a name and color. Each of the six sections had six statements that you needed to think about and assess. If the statement was true of you 100% of the time, then you would fully color in that spoke on the wheel. If it was true of you 50% of the time, you would color it ½ of the way, and so on. The sections included subcategories like:
Physical: diet, exercise, sleep, drug use, etc.
Financial: bills, debt, spending, responsibilities, etc.
Intellectual: learning, vocation, self-development, hobbies, etc.
Emotional: problems, feelings, stability, fun, etc.
Social: relationships, conflict, community, boundaries, etc.
Spiritual: life purpose, spiritual practice, beliefs, self-forgiveness, etc.
I printed out the self-assessment and went to work with my son’s crayons. It was a fun activity with surprising results.
When I stepped back and looked at my colored “Life Balance Wheel,” I realized that there were certainly things out of balance. Some of my areas of life, like intellectual and spiritual, were full of bright colors. However, other areas—like social, emotional, and financial—had a bit more white space.
Perhaps this would help me to identify where the imbalance in my life might lie.
Photo by Christophe Hautier on Unsplash
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Reflection
I appreciated that the self-assessment didn’t just leave me there sitting and staring at the colors on my wheel, or lack thereof. Rather, it invited me to a place of self-reflection and self-analysis.
Which area of my life had the most color?
Intellectual
Which area of my life had the least color?
Emotional
What did the colors, or lack of colors, on my wheel mean?
I was investing more in the intellectual and spiritual areas of my life, but was neglecting other areas such as the emotional, financial, and social.
What did I want and need to change?
I wanted to have a more balanced wheel. I wanted the colors to be more evenly distributed in my life.
How could I bring more color into some areas of my life that were a bit out of balance? What investments could I make?
I might have to sacrifice some finances, time, and energy to pay attention and develop those “lacking” areas of my life. That might mean that my “more colorful” areas might lose a bit of color in the meantime.
I certainly couldn’t do it all at once. I would have to take baby steps towards balance.
Coaching Myself
I was excited to see the coaching questions that followed this assessment. Again, it didn’t just leave me with self-reflection, but it took me a step further to setting goals and identifying some action steps I could take to move the dial one step further.
Here were some of the coaching tips:
I needed to write a statement of intent of what I wanted as a result of the assessment findings.
I would like to find a more healthy balance, obtaining at least a “50% color” in all areas of my life.
I needed to identify a first goal to move me forward.
I would take a two-day personal retreat in the mountains to re-discover a place of peace and refreshment, focusing on the area of emotional well-being on my wheel.
Who would I share my findings and objectives with?
I would tell a good friend. However, in order to find a healthy life balance, I may need more help. Even though I am a certified life coach myself, I may need to find someone to coach me through this journey of discovery.
When would I review my progress—was there a specific date?
I plan to have my retreat scheduled within a few months. After my retreat, I will re-evaluate where I am on my wheel and set a new goal to continue to move me forward.
Yes, today, I may still feel that I’m falling or leaning to one side. I may still feel out of whack and unstable. However, now I have a plan. It’s going to take time, but I’m hopeful that I can take one step . . . one step closer to a healthy life balance. Now that I know where I am, I can better determine where I need to go and how to get there.
What about you? Have you ever taken a self-assessment of your life balance? Grab your crayons, a cup of coffee or tea, and take a look at your life.
