Through the landscape of life, we fill our basket with choices, images of how, what, when and every multitude of desires. It’s astounding to realise how many visions, hopes and goals we set out for ourselves in a lifetime.
One of my favourite tools in my ‘coaching toolkit’ that I was given whilst training to become a certified Life Coach, is The Circle of Life.
I adore this tool for its simplicity and profound reflection of what is – and isn’t – working in our lives. I’ve re-jigged my version over the years to reflect the areas I specialise in as a coach.
Naturally, bringing awareness to our diet is momentous when we are consciously assessing and improving our health and happiness, but there is so much more to living a healthy life than what’s on our plate.
Have you ever noticed that when you’re feeling stuck and dissatisfied in one area of your life (e.g. bored in your full-time job or lacking intimacy in your relationship), you turn to food to fill the void? I get it. I’ve absolutely been there.
You could be eating a perfect diet and moving your body regularly, but if you haven’t felt creative since high school or your job is stressing you out, you won’t feel your best. To take the very best care of ourselves, we need to take a holistic perspective.
I use The Circle of Life with my clients (and in my own life) to create clarity around where they’re feeling content and where they could get a little more sweet satisfaction.
Give it a go (remember, the keywords here are joy and satisfaction) and observe what thoughts and feelings come up for you as you move through each area of your life.
What does Your Life look like?
- Place a dot on the line in each category to indicate your level of satisfaction within each
area. Place a dot at the centre of the circle to indicate dissatisfaction, or on the periphery to
indicate satisfaction. Most people fall somewhere in between. - Connect the dots to see your Circle of Life.
- Identify imbalances. Determine where to spend more time and energy to create balance.
