“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” Roy Disney
In order to go into the world and live a life you love, you need to know a little bit about yourself. You need to know what’s important to you, what your values are, and how they can guide all the decisions – big and little – you make in your life.
Being aware of your values not only helps you with decisions but also gives you direction. You are able to ask yourself at any time, “Is doing this helping me create a life I love, or is it hindering me?” You begin to live with intention, rather than adrift in the drama of your own and other people’s lives. Your purpose becomes clear.
Getting in touch with your values also helps you reconnect with and understand your passion for life.
A passion for animal rescue may reflect how important the treatment of all living creatures is for you.
A passion for the provision of services for immigrants may reflect how important social justice is for you.
A passion for, um, disco music may reflect how important feeling joy may be for you.
There are all sorts of ways to get clear on your values. You can look at moments in your life when you’ve had heightened emotions (happy, sad, angry, etc) and draw out the value that was being honoured or in conflict in those situations.
One of the easiest ways I’ve found is by doing a Values Sort. It took me 20 years to find a really good list of values but I finally came across the list used in research by Miller, C’DeBaca, Matthews and Wilbourne which captures the core values quite well. (As well as having scope to ‘add your own values’)
To help you get clear on what’s important to you, I’ve developed the handy Sorting Out Your Values exercise.
Download Sorting Out Your Values
I don’t use the Wheel of Life much these days (as most of my work with client’s is work-focused) but when I do, I’m always blown away by how effective it is. After this simple 10 minute exercise, a client often has new insight into their lives, clarity about their life and work direction, and renewed energy. It’s pretty neat… which is why I share it with you now. Enjoy!
The Wheel of Life
The Wheel of Life (WOL) is one of the most commonly used coaching tools. Most coaches have one hidden in their toolbox. I didn’t use it for years because I wanted to be different. But I remembered how many of my clients found it very valuable. So recently I’ve come back to it with fresh eyes and a new respect. It’s a wonderful exercise that draws power from its simplicity.
What is it?
The WOL consists of a circle that’s divided into eight segments (like pieces of a pie or spokes in a wheel). Each segment represents an area of life. These often vary, depending on the coaching focus (or which version of the wheel is being used).
How do you use it?
The WOL is a great introductory ‘snapshot’ of your life. You rate each area of life on a scale from 0 to 10 and draw a little line across the relevant segment. Once completed you can quickly see which areas of your life need a bit of attention.
Where does it come from?
I have no idea who created the first wheel. (Do you know? Email me.) There are so many variations of it around that it’s hard to know what the original version is. The one I use is an adaptation of Whitworth, Kimsey-House & Sandahl’s (1998) version (found in Co-active Coaching). I love their Wheel because they give a little wheel example and refer to the ‘bumpy ride’ when your wheel is out of balance.
What’s so good about it?
It’s simple. It lets you define what’s important in each area of your life and rate how you’re going against your own subjective ideal. This is compared to some other ‘discovery’ tools that impose a value system of success or satisfaction on you).
It’s visual. For those of us who prefer to receive information in the form of pictures, the wheel sends an instant message of what’s going on.
It’s adaptable. You can take it to a deeper level and access core issues from it. You can use it to draw out a vision. And you can use it as a precursor to goal setting (as with one presented here). Oh, and it’s the perfect metaphor for balance and wholeness.
It’s quick. It only takes a couple of minutes to complete so you’re not wading through questions for 45 minutes.
See where you’re at in your life (and peer through the window of how you want things to be) with the WORKLIFEDESIGN Wheel of Life (pdf)
