How Is Your Life Balance?

Many of the patients and clients I work with daily express some level of frustration with their lack of life balance. Sometimes it is their work that steamrolls over their personal life or prevents them from exercising, recreating, or spending meaningful time with the people they love. Others are so consumed with family issues and responsibility that there’s no time for a relaxing break.

The first challenge to having greater life balance is to figure out what, exactly, is out of balance. We have a simple tool to help you assess your life balance.

This exercise will help you gain greater clarity with regard to your level of satisfaction and effectiveness in the eight important domains of your life – Career, Money, Health, Friends & Family, Significant Other/Romance, Personal & Spiritual Growth, Fun/Leisure/Recreation and Physical Environment.

It will also help you identify your priorities for goal-setting by visually demonstrating the areas of your life that need your greatest attention as you strive to find greater balance. Balance is personal and unique to each individual – what may be balance for some may be too stressful or too boring for others.

You can download and complete the Wheel of Life exercise here.

Balance must be assessed over time. So, a regular check on how balanced you are can highlight useful patterns and help you learn even more about yourself. Keep a copy of this Wheel of Life exercise handy and check in with yourself every few months. When you are too far out of balance, it could be helpful to talk with a friend, pastor, parent or professional counselor for some perspective. This can also be a great exercise to do along with your spouse so you can help each other see areas of need and brainstorm ways to help each other achieve better balance.

What is your greatest challenge in keeping life in balance? Was there one thing you discovered that helped you equalize your areas of stress or areas of need? Add a comment below to share what you have learned!

Live, Work & Relate Well!

Dr. Todd