Just like a pizza…
A Wellness Wheel Activity (also known as an 8 Dimensions of Wellness Activity) can provide important guidance when you are ready to change your life for the better and design personal goals.
It also answers an important question:
Does your ideal life look like an uneaten pizza? (In my mind – yes. Mmm… pizza…)
Wellness Wheel Activity Benefits
If you are looking to make positive changes in your life. A wellness wheel activity is a great way to investigate the areas of your life that could benefit from some TLC.
This exercise gives the opportunity to take a holistic look at your life and discover areas you could focus on to feel happier and more fulfilled.(1)
The 8 Dimensions of Wellness (or 8 slices of Pizza)
Dimensions of Wellness (or Wellness Wheel) was a concept that originated from B. Hettler in the 70s.(2)
Personally, I like to think of the concept as less of a wheel and more of a Pizza. (Stay with me)
Picture a pizza with 8 pieces.
Each piece of the pizza represents an area of your life. So, one is financial stuff, one is job stuff, one is emotional stuff etc
In the ideal world – you may have one full perfectly round pizza – but unfortunately, you have a rat problem (or live with me). So, when you open your pizza box to check out your delicious pizza – all your pieces are different sizes – because of the chunks that have been eaten (probably by me).
This activity provides you with a holistic picture of the important segments in your life. The fuller pieces of pizza are the ones that you feel are going well. The smaller slices of pizza are the dimensions of your life you may be neglecting or have issues you could benefit from tending to.
It is important to note – that maybe in an ideal world your pizza is full. But this activity is about striking the right balance for your life – so maybe a few smaller pieces work in your life.
Why you need to try a wellness wheel activity TODAY
The first time I completed a wellness wheel activity – I was feeling pretty low. I could tell things weren’t good – but I couldn’t pinpoint anything specific in my life that was letting me down. I had no real issues – everything just felt a bit… meh.
To be honest, I felt like I was at the bottom of a deep dark hole and I couldn’t work out how to start clawing myself out.
At this time, it was recommended to me by a Psychologist to give a wellness wheel activity a go. So, I went through the dimensions – reflecting on what was happening in each and what I honestly wanted.
My scores were very surprising to me.
At that moment in time, I wouldn’t have said that I had a problem with my relationships. It never occurred to me that area of my life could have been contributing to my low feelings. But my scores in this area were way down low in comparison to all the other areas in my life.
I realised when I asked myself what my ideal scenario was for my close relationships – the reality didn’t look anything like it. Far, far from it. I also realised I didn’t have the “skills” (or rather emotional abilities) I needed to improve my life in this area.
So, for me, this kicked off my goal-setting & personal development journey that started with Brené Brown and serious work on vulnerability and sharing. Eventually, I started to explore these concepts in a blog.
Fast forward to today. The fact that I am writing and sharing with you right now is because of that wellness wheel activity.
So my recommendation to you is: “get stuck in”! Who knows what amazing journey this activity might kick off for you?
Who knows what you might learn about yourself? And who knows how great your life can be? (I do actually – it can be fabulous!)
Wellness Wheel Activity – “How to”
Wellness Wheel Activity Step #1: See your Pizza
If you don’t have a wellness wheel template to work with – grab one from the above. There is both a workbook and a spreadsheet option (In case you didn’t know – I LOVE SPREADSHEETS).
This exercise (in the gorgeous spreadsheet or workbook) will ask you to reflect on 8 wellness dimensions:
- Emotions
- Relationships
- Spirituality
- Intellectual
- Environmental
- Finance
- Career
- Physical
For each one you ask yourself honestly things like “What do I wish was happening here?” and “What do I need to change in this area?”. Once you have reflected on each dimension (there are examples & questions to help you if you need) you will allocate a score to them.
There is no right or wrong here. You just want to get a sense of how these things compare in your life.
Once you have completed the exercise you will be able to compare each of the eight dimensions and see how things stack up (there is a pretty bar & radar chart if you like to see things visually [like me]).
Now – you will probably find one or two of the dimensions might score a little lower than the others. Or, you might realise you would like to work on one or two in particular.
This is where goal-setting starts!
Wellness Wheel Activity Step #2: Goal setting time (increasing the pizza slices where it matters)
So – at this time – I invite you to choose one of these dimensions. And pick a goal you want to achieve in the next 6-weeks. This will get the ball rolling on improving your pizza…I mean… life.
If you need a hand with this – check out this (6-week goal setting challenge & free template)
In summary – Pizza can be hard worthwhile work
If you are looking to make positive changes in your life – this wellness wheel activity is a perfect place to start.
The ultimate goal being – when you open your pizza box – each piece of pizza is as full as you would like it to be.
Now – don’t be mistaken. As with most worthwhile things in life, improving the size of your pizza slices may take a lot of work. But, the result will be fantastic when you have increased feelings of well-being and the right balance in your life.(3)
[Article First Published: August 4, 2020.]
Have you done a Wellness Wheel Activity?
Share how you went in the comments below!
(Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash)
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