This is a strange time and many are feeling fearful about the uncertain future of things. Being at home without being allowed out is taking its toll on all of us, especially those with small children and no outside space at home.
There are a few things we can do to help ourselves feel better at these times. One useful thing is to turn off the news for now as you will get bombarded about the fear and panic and this will keep you in a fear state. Better to spend some time focussing on other things that make you feel stronger and more optimistic and thinking about things that make you feel just better and more harmonious. Your body and immune system will thank you for doing it and when you take your focus away from worry and concern you are helping yourself stay in a stronger state of being well.
Jasmine and I have known each other for over 10 years. I have been her mentor and coach through most of that time, working with her from the starting days of Hemsley and Hemsley, from the time when it was run from a kitchen table in London and through the growth times before it became the very successful brand it is today. During the last decade there have been best-selling books, cafes, pop up restaurants and international TV series. It has been a busy few years for Jasmine and her sister Melissa.
Today Jas and I are thinking about how to design life and take charge of putting some plans in for our life day to day. Some of the best coaching tools involve applying some good big-thinking style, planning, setting goals and intentions. It’s good to review where you are now and where you would like to go next.
I use this as a really powerful exercise in my coaching sessions to do just this and find out where people are currently in different areas of their life. It’s based on a diagram called the Wheel of Life. Take a look and try it out yourself.
The wheel of life
Take a blank piece of paper and get drawing. Have your pens and coloured pens at the ready. Draw a wheel like the one below on a sheet of plain paper. Make 8 sections as shown in the image.
Label the 8 sections like this: health & wellness, family & relationships, work, finance, fun & adventure, contribution, celebration, spiritual. Or you can choose your own sections that mean something to you at this point in your life.
Mark each segment with a score for yourself, between 1 and 10 where 1 is a low can-do-better score and 10 is a high score that shows you are doing well in and feel fulfilled in this area. Go through each section and give each life area a score.
Mind map the life area for your lowest and highest scores. This is done by getting a plain piece of paper and some coloured pens. Draw a middle circle on the page which is your central theme. It may be for example ´career´. From here extend branches from the central theme and add on ideas as branches from the central idea. Keep ideas to one word. Use colour and draw visuals, as well as the brain, loves to work with colours and pictures.
Notice what you are observing about all the areas and make notes on things you want to address and change in your life.
As you think about the areas with your low mark – you can think of steps to take to bring yourself up in this area of your life. Some simple steps to improve this area.
As you think about the area that you are doing really well on, it will help you feel good about how you are doing and bring you into a flow state of doing well and being successful in certain areas.
Next ask yourself 3 questions and jot down your answers:
What is my number 1 goal right now that I would like to make happen? List 3 positive steps towards this. (eg daily exercise, eating more healthy – find an app to do this, for example, choose some new recipes to make at home, perhaps out of one of Jasmine´s cookbooks.)
What 2 simple things could I do to make my life better day by day? (eg changing diet, ditch worrying about things you can´t control, stop something you feel addicted to and is not helping you, stop toxic chat and gossip.)
What 1 new habit would make me happier straight away? (for example, thinking more positively, sleeping more, having a routine and a plan for each day, calling loved ones, eliminating sugar.)
Write this out:
My new routine from now on will include: ….
It may be, for example: more positive self-talk, take up daily meditation, start a new creative hobby like knitting or sketching, reach out to family members regularly.
Leave your jottings overnight and then review them again tomorrow.
Come back to this weekly – choose a day, like Sunday, to review the wheel each week so it becomes a good new habit. Keep notes in a journal.
You are in a great space now to know where you are currently, where you would like to be and set some useful goals and intentions.
Using this time that we have been given where we have to be at home can be put to use to do your own personal coaching and inner reflection.
Now is a great time to get some new daily habits and make some adjustments to your routines.
