In this week’s post, I want to share a journaling exercise I have found incredibly helpful over the last few years. I do this exercise at the beginning of every year, then transfer it to each new journal throughout the year so I can review (if you’re a member of the Becoming Who You Are Community, this is similar to the Wheel of Life Exercise you can find in the Library).
It’s a simple and fairly quick practice, but it’s a powerful way of looking at the different areas of your life, reflecting on how they are going now, and brainstorming ways to bring them closer to your ideal vision. Here’s how it works:
1. Start by making a note of the 10 categories.
I use:
– Personal growth
– Finances
– Career
– Spirituality
– Marriage and family
– Fun
– Giving
– Physical environment
– Health and fitness
– Friendships
These are the categories that work for me and my life, but they aren’t set in stone. You can (and should!) adjust these categories to fit what resonates with you.
2. For each category, rate your current level of satisfaction out of 10.
Key tip: don’t overthink this too much! If you’re struggling to pin down a number that feels right, I find it helpful to clear my head then look at the word that describes the category (for example, “fun”) then let whatever images that word evokes come into my head.
How do I feel about the thoughts and visuals that arise in relation to this word? This usually gives me a sense of where I am on the scale.
For a less-intuitive-more-analytical approach, try observing each category over the course of a week or two and see what comes up.
3. Now you have your current ratings, for each category write down 3-5 things you can do over the coming year that will bring you closer to your 10/10 ideal life.
Make these steps as clear and actionable as possible. A question I find useful to ask is: how will I know when I’ve successfully done this?
For example, “Save more money” might increase my satisfaction in the Finances department, but what does “more” mean? Does it literally mean just £1 more than last year, or is there another specific figure you have in mind? Equally, “Make my flat feel more homely” is a physical environment-related goal, but how will I know when I’ve done this? It will be helpful to break this down into specific actions (e.g. “Put photos up in living room,” etc.) that are clear markers for this intention.
Repeat this process for your individual categories until you have 3-5 milestones/intentions underneath each.
And that’s it! I use this exercise to inform my goals for the year and find it to be a simple yet effective way of ensuring I’m considering all important areas of my life. Before I started doing this, I found that there were certain categories (I’m looking at you, finances) that I ignored/avoided each year. No more!
Now you have your list, you can refer back to it at the beginning of each month, see how you’re getting on, recalibrate where necessary and celebrate all the progress made 🙂
As you can see, I keep my layout fairly basic for speed and brevity. Here are a few other ideas for ways you can set out your Level 10 life:
Do you create a Level 10 Life journaling spread or something similar? Leave a comment and share your tips/suggestions!
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
