creative bliss

At the beginning of the year we greet each other with wishes for a happy New Year. We wish each other more happiness, love, success and just about anything that we’d like more of. We say that somewhat habitually, just as routine regards. But what if we could really make this year much better than the previous one?

Our lives are run by work, duties, responsibilities, commitments, deeds, control, drive, achievements, pains, plans, desires, you name it. At the beginning of the year we write our New Year’s Resolutions, and then we run again into the marathon of life. How can we make them more meaningful and stick to a plan to make a difference? Here is an easy way to write your New Year’s resolutions that will help you have the best year yet.

The Wheel of Life is a guide for analyzing yourself and streamlining your creativity. It has multiple benefits; you will:

• observe how balanced your life is
• notice the areas that drain your creative energy
• identify your goals for higher life satisfaction
• plan and (hopefully) act on them
• take responsibility for your life

In three simple steps you could work on each area of your life from where you are; to wherever you want to be. Download and print the Wheel of Life guide (in PDF format – click here for free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader), and follow these three steps:

Step 1. Complete page one of the Wheel of Life. The circle is divided into eight sections: Family and Friends, Health and Fitness, Fun and Recreation, Significant Other/Romance, Physical Environment, Money, Career, and Spirituality. Rank your level of satisfaction for each area of your life from 1 to 10, where 10 is a complete bliss – you wouldn’t change a thing, and one is the worst possible situation. Colour in the cells up to the number of your satisfaction level for each section. This exercise is very personal. For example in the Money section a person with lesser income could have higher satisfaction level than their boss. You are not measuring the amount you physically possess, but instead, you are indicating how satisfied you are with your life in each category. Rate each slice. Then take a moment to observe your wheel. Is your life balanced? Is the coloured area round and big?

I have added steps 2 & 3 to this exercise to help you achieve your desires and write your New Year’s resolutions.

Step 2. When Alice in Wonderland came to a fork in the road she asked the Cheshire cat, “Which road shall I take?” The cat replied, “It depends on where you want to go.” Alice replied, “I don’t care where so long as it is somewhere.” The cat responded, “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

Go to page two of the Wheel of Life guide and focus on “where you want to go.” Look at the empty (uncoloured) areas of each section of the wheel. What is hiding in that area? What is missing in your life? What do you need or want to reach higher satisfaction level? These areas I call “The Gap.” The Gap could be draining your energy. On the contrary, the Gap may be a fertile field where your creativity can blossom. If necessity is the mother of invention, then that’s where it is hiding.

Do some soul searching and list your heart desires. For example, if you feel that you cannot reach 10 in Fun and Recreation before you’ve stepped on the Moon, then write it down. No one will judge your passions; they don’t even have to be logical, or realistic. Freely list your dreams and aspiration for each section.

Step 3. Look at page three. This is where you will take responsibility and take your life in your hands. No dream could be fulfilled if not acted on. What can you do today to move one small step forward? Ask yourself: “How can I improve my surroundings (or career, spiritual/religious/personal growth, financial situation, or spike more fun into my life)?”

Make commitments for this week, this month, and this year and jot them down. Then follow those commitments through. It’s as simple as that. However, no one said that it will be easy. We tend to come up with all kinds of excuses for ourselves why things cannot be done. Push all excuses aside. Think of what you can do today and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. Take little steps. Print multiple copies of the last page and visit it regularly. Put in on a visible place. This is your “To Do” list, your action plan, your New Year’s resolution. Act on it!

Next January, try this exercise again. It will give you a visual guide to compare your present state with last year’s. As we grow as conscious human beings, our passions and desires change. Adjust your life plan. See where you came from. Design your growth. Feel the satisfaction of a life lived well as you work on the best creation of your life – your life.

I’d love to learn how the Wheel of Life worked for you.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

*Image background by Paul Hollingworth