Blurry train. Warsaw, Poland 2015.
Welcome back!
In case you missed my first post in this series, check it out. It has one of my favorite photographs!
Over the past three years I’ve come across a few resources and books that have had a big impact on my life. These resources have changed my perspective on a lot of things.
In case there’s anyone else in a similar situation or journey, I want to share some of those resources.
When it comes to focus, we started with the big picture- Time. Now let’s take it a step down. The next resource is the “Wheel of Life.” Have you heard about this? It sounds a bit weird or spiritual, but it’s not.
I heard about it from one of my favorite people on this planet, Zig Ziglar. I heard about Ziglar from Dave Ramsey‘s financial podcast. Ziglar was dropping some serious knowledge BOMBS on his podcast show so I was hooked. They were simple, but powerful lessons. That’s when I heard about the Wheel of Life.
By the way, few people have had the impact on my life that Zig Ziglar has had.
Back to the wheel. It’s just a simple wheel showing seven key areas of life. You can put whatever you want in the wheel. But these are the recommended key areas.
And based on these seven areas, we should evaluate ourselves to see how we’re doing. For example, you can rate yourself on a scale from one to ten. And if you rate one of those areas lower than the others the wheel gets out of balance, right? This means we need to spend more time in this area cause their might be a problem.
The goal is to create a balanced life by focusing more time on these seven areas.
Attaining a balanced life is impossible. But the wheel helps us spend more time on the right things. The point is not to beat ourselves up when we rate one area too low. To me, it’s more about being aware of problem areas and doing something about it.
For example, in my financial area, I’m nowhere near where I want to be. One of my goals this year is to start working with a new financial planner.
Wheel of Life: Courtesy of Chris Lucorto’s website.
It’s a simple concept, but when applied it makes a big difference. Not only did it help me focus on the stuff that matters, but it has shown me what not to focus on. Focusing is as much as about giving time to specific things as it is about avoiding others.
In my next post I’ll share another resource that has helped me narrow my focus even more.