MaXIMIze - Circle of Perception

So, how are you all doing with powering up the personal prose using the tips and thoughts from last week's blog? Absolutely fantastically, I hope! 

Now on to the Circle of Perception exercise that I use in my coaching practice. I also use this exercise myself at least annually to regain perspective on the various areas of my life and to see how I'm progressing based on what I had said previously.

For this exercise you'll need a blank 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper (a sheet of regular printer paper will do nicely) and a pencil or pen. 

First, draw a circle - make it at least 3-4" in diameter. Then, draw three lines through it in order to make six equal slices of pie (or pizza if you prefer). Now label each of these pieces as follows:

Career

Relationships

Financial

Health

Spiritual

Well-Being

So, how does each of these slices taste to you currently? How satisfied are you with each of these pieces of your life? On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, rate each area of your life. 

Now to put that in a different visual perspective, mentally divide the pieces of the pie into ten slices each, radiating from the center of the pie outward, so you essentially end up with nine smaller circles within the original one. Then, for each piece of the pie, each area of your life, starting at the center of the pie, shade out the rating you gave that particular piece. 

Now, flip the image from a pie to a wheel - is your life pretty evenly rated all the way around, or is your wheel uneven? If you rated all areas evenly but rated them at, say, five or six, or even seven, then your life is like riding a bike with low tires - pedaling for all you are worth, yet taking longer to get somewhere than you really could if your tires were fully inflated.

For those areas that you rated your satisfaction as 8 or above - they might need a little tweaking here or there - could perhaps be better - however, we are going to focus on those areas that you rated 7 or below - those areas causing the tire of your life to be low at best or totally off-kilter at worst.

DISCLAIMER: This blog is about coaching - NOT counseling. I am not here to fix the ills of your past. I AM here to help you focus on your future and gain knowledge, skills, and abilities to set, pursue and gain the goals to make your life better - something you can rate all around at 8 or above. If the ills of your past are something we identify as a roadblock to that success, you will need to pursue counseling with a trained professional to deal with those issues. I am NOT such a trained professional.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

As you review each of the six areas of your life, here are some questions to ponder until next week:

- What are some of the most immediate/pressing and/or important goals you'd like to achieve in each of these areas?

- What would achieving these goals mean to you - how would you feel?

- What will happen or be different once you achieve these goals? How would that manifest in your life?

- Who/what do you need to help you accomplish these goals?

- When do you expect to achieve these goals?

- When you achieve these goals, what will be the impact to other areas of your life?

- What are the potential or actual roadblocks to achieving these goals? 

- What skills and resources do you already have to achieve these goals?

- What else do you need?

Last - what steps will you take to ensure you achieve these goals?

This is your life and you have the power to live your best life now - are you ready to seize that power?

Next week, we will discuss the mechanics of setting and attaining goals - until then, Namaste!