The eight categories are: Physical, Medical, Environmental, Spiritual, Interpersonal, Financial, Occupational and Intrapersonal
Download The Wellbeing Wheel Poster and use the instructions that come with it to help you to plot your own wellbeing. The statements below will help you to consider how well you are in each aspect of your life.
How Well Am I?
Physical
Drugs/substances
- I am not addicted to any drugs or substances
- I do not smoke
Nutrition
- I eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day
- I drink at least one 250ml glass of water for every 10kgs I weigh
- I have very little sugar, caffeine and alcohol in my diet
- I eat at least 3 healthy meals a day
- I don’t binge eat
Exercise
- I get at least 20 mins of physical activity everyday
- In my workouts I have a mix of both aerobic and resistance exercise
- I stand up from my desk every hour to get blood circulation going
- I take a “recovery break” every 90 to 120 minutes during work
Sleep
- I know how much sleep I need and I get that amount of sleep nightly or I get a minimum of seven to eight hours sleep per night
- I have good quality of sleep (I sleep well)
- I go to sleep and wake up consistently at the same times
- I do not sacrifice sleep for other activities
- I generally feel well and I have energy
Medical
Sexual organs
- I am satisfied with my sexual desire/libido
- My sexual/reproductive organs are healthy
Allergies | Illness | Pain
- I do not suffer from allergies
- I seldom get headaches, aches and pains and stomach complaints
- I am rarely sick
Blood pressure | Sugar | Cholesterol
- My blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol are all within healthy limits
Breathing
- My breathing is generally deep, smooth and rhythmic
- I am not easily out of breath when I do mild physical activity
- I do not suffer from breathing problems
Cardiac
- My resting heart rate is within healthy limits
- I have a healthy heart
Weight
- I am satisfied with my weight
- My weight is within the BMI (body mass index) for my height
- My weight does not fluctuate
Environmental
Green/natural spaces
- I am easily able to get into green/natural spaces (gardens, parks, forests, fields, mountains, beaches)
- I spend time in natural spaces at least every week
Safety and security
- I feel safe in my environment, whether at work, home or commuting
Support systems
- I have a good network of people to draw on when I need help
- I enjoy good relationships with work colleagues
- I know where to go to get help when I need it
- I know how to access services for support
- I have good relationships with family and friends
- I have a network of people who live physically close to me who could give me physical help
Accommodation
- I am happy with my accommodation
- My living space meets all my needs
- I feel my home is my “sanctuary”
- My accommodation enables me to do many of the “home” activities I enjoy
- I get along with the people I live with (fellow residents, housemates etc.)
- I enjoy good relationships with the people in my community (neighbours, shops etc.)
- I enjoy a good relationship with my landlord
Communications
- I have access to all the forms of communication that I would wish for (e.g. landlines, mobile phones, email, postal services, courier services, social media platforms)
- I know how to use a variety of communication platforms
- I do not feel cut off from others
Transport
- I have adequate transport to get to the places I need to go
- I am able to access transport when I need it without incurring great effort or stress
- I find it easy to get to where I want to go
- I feel safe getting around on a daily basis
Spiritual
Spiritual philosophy | Belief system | Religion
- I spend time each day ‘connecting’ spiritually with God/higher being
- I have studied/investigated my religion/belief system and really know what it is about
- I have studied/investigated other religions/belief systems and really know what they are about
- I take time out to slow down and reflect
Meaning | Purpose
- I have a real sense of purpose and meaning in my life
- I feel motivated by my work/purpose in life
- I feel that my role really matters and makes a difference in the world
- I feel more challenge and opportunity than frustration and aggravation in my life
- I don’t feel threatened by changes
Values
- I know what my core values are and I live my life according to them
- My behaviour reflects my key/core values
- I feel authentic and real
Vision
- I have a clear sense of the direction my life is going in/vision for my life
- I think about my future and make plans to achieve the things I want to achieve
- I set goals for my life
- I use visualisation as a tool to obtain my goals
Interpersonal
- I am able to handle conflict effectively and positively
- I do not avoid conflict
- I have good social skills
- I am satisfied with my social life
- I am empathetic and easily able to understand another person’s point of view
- I am sincere
- People can rely on me to do what I say I will do
- I don’t lie or exaggerate
- I trust the significant people in my life
Sexual relationships
- I enjoy a satisfying sex life with my partner
- I can communicate easily with my lover about what I want and do not want regarding sex
- I feel respected by my lover
- I respect my lover
Social relationships
- I have good friends
- I do not feel lonely
- I have the social skills to get along with most people
- I have close personal relationships
Marriage
- I am happily married
- My spouse and I communicate well and easily
- I trust my spouse
- I respect my spouse
- I feel respected by my spouse
- I enjoy being with my spouse
Parenting
- I feel my parents like and respect me
- I like and respect my parents
- I enjoy good relationships with my parents/children
- I read books on parenting and attend parenting talks and courses so that I can be the best parent possible
Family
- I enjoy a good relationship with each member of my family
- I feel I can turn to my family when I need help
- I enjoy being with my family
- I enjoy engaging in social activities with my family
Intrapersonal
- I manage my time effectively
- I feel in control of my life
- I continually challenge my brain through work, learning new information, having new experiences, reading, doing crosswords etc.
- I use tools such as journaling, collaging, psychotherapy, gratitude and positive affirmations etc. to work on negative thought patterns
- I constantly work on my personal development
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
- I have high EQ and am able to manage my own and other people’s emotions effectively and positively.
- I am able to experience a full range of feelings – E.G. Self-control as well as spontaneity, honesty as well as compassion, happiness as well as sadness, calm as well as anger, caution and boldness
- I am able to be patient
- I am self-disciplined
- I seldom have inappropriate emotional outbursts (anger, irritability, tears)
Mental health
- I manage my stress levels effectively
- I do not suffer from an anxiety disorder
- I do not suffer from depression or a mood disorder
- I do not have suicidal thoughts
- I do not have an addiction
- I am able to recognize when I need professional help for my mental health wellbeing and obtain it
- I am able to concentrate and focus on the task at hand
- I practice resilience
Self-esteem | Confidence
- I feel self-confident in most areas of my life
- I like myself and think I am worthy/of value
- I use positive self-talk and /or affirmations when I feel it is necessary and beneficial to do so
- I seldom engage in negative self-talk
Creativity
- I spend some time every week doing creative activities purely for pleasure and renewal
- I engage in some form of creative expression every week
- I frequently engage in creative activities
- I make sure I find time to be creative because I know it will make me more productive
- I frequently experience a sense of joy in life
Financial
Retirement planning
- I have a retirement plan in place and I am actively saving for retirement
- I review my retirement plan annually
- I am aware of exactly how much I need to save monthly in order to retire when I want to
Financial planning | Debt management
- I seek the help of a qualified, reputable financial planner
- I live within my means
- I do not spend money that I have not yet earned
- I do not spend on credit for luxuries, holidays and everyday expenses (I save for those)
- I am disciplined when it comes to spending on credit
- I make paying off debt as quickly as possible a priority
- I review my financial plan annually
Emergency fund | Savings | Budget
- I have a savings plan for emergencies and I am actively saving for it
- I am aware of exactly what I earn and I have a sound budget in place so that I do not spend more than I earn
- I review my budget annually
- I have the necessary financial insurance in place – E.G. life insurance, income protection, medical aid etc.
- I have 6 months savings in place so that if I lose my job I can still pay the bills for 6 months
Occupational
Rest and recuperation
- I take time for rest and recuperation – annual leave, public holidays etc.
- I do not work after hours (evening and weekends) unless it really is a life-changing emergency
- I take a lunch break away from my desk every day because I know it will make me more productive
- Besides a lunch break, I take a least two short tea breaks every day to have a snack, drink and toilet break because I know it will improve my concentration and productivity.
Career achievement and goals
- I have a clear vision for my career
- I am doing well in my career and get achievement recognition in the form of praise, rewards, promotion etc.
- I think about what I want to achieve in my career and set goals to attain it
- I review my career goals annually
- I reward myself for small successes as well as large
Learning | Training
- I attend talks, workshops and courses to learn new skills and information
- I read non-fiction books related to my business, career and industry
- I embrace change
- I link up with a monthly peer group to help me focus on my career/business
- I seek professional help in the form of mentors, coaches, psychologists etc.
- I constantly challenge my brain by learning new information, playing word and number games etc.
- I have a good memory
- I constantly practice critical thinking
- I develop my concentration skills by ensuring I get enough sleep and rest
What Does the Shape of my Wheel Mean?
After you have rated yourself for each aspect of your life and joined the dots around your Wheel of Wellbeing, you will be left with a shape. What is your shape?
Ideally you want a big, round ‘circle’. (To be pedantic, because the lines you have drawn joining the dots are straight lines, ideally you want a regular octagon, but I am going to call it a ‘circle’ for the purposes of The Wheel of Wellbeing). The bigger and more round the shape is, the greater your general wellbeing. The smaller and/or spikier your shape is, the lower your general wellbeing.
Think of it as a wheel travelling the road of your life. If you have a big, round wheel the journey will be smooth and small potholes in the road will not be felt as you travel right over them. But if it is a small and/or odd shaped wheel, then the journey will be bumpy and uncomfortable and you will feel every small pothole. Indeed if your wheel is small or irregular enough you may even get trapped in some of the potholes.
A big, smooth, round wheel is an indicator of optimal health and wellbeing because it means you are healthy in all aspects of your life. If something goes wrong in one aspect of your life you will have the resources from all the other aspects of your life to absorb the difficulty.
A small, smooth round wheel is an indicator of poor health and wellbeing because it means that you are neglecting all aspects of your life. If something goes wrong in one aspect of your life you will NOT have the resources from anywhere else to draw on.
A spiky wheel is an indicator of poor health and wellbeing because it means you are neglecting some aspects of your life. Again this limits the resources you have to draw on in times of difficulty, so the difficulty becomes a major setback. For example, if you neglect your occupational learning and development, social life and finances, then losing your job becomes a catastrophe because you have neither up to date skills, friends nor money to help you through.
So focus your attention on growing YOUR wheel of wellbeing into a big, smooth round wheel. How can you do this?
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