What Is the Wheel of Life
The Wheel of Life is a coaching and personal development tool that allows you to visually and simultaneously see your level of satisfaction across different areas of your life. Its circular shape — like a wheel — makes it immediately intuitive: a perfectly round wheel rolls smoothly; an irregular wheel bumps and jolts.
The metaphor is powerful: if your life were a wheel, how smooth would the ride be?
Origin of the Wheel of Life
The Wheel of Life was popularized by Paul J. Meyer, founder of the Success Motivation Institute, in the 1960s. Since then it has been adopted by thousands of coaches, therapists, and facilitators worldwide. It's one of the most widely used personal development tools globally — and for good reason: it's simple, visual, and deeply revealing.
Traditional Wheel of Life Areas
The most common versions of the Wheel of Life include 6 to 8 areas: Career/Work, Finances, Health, Family & Friends, Romance/Partner, Personal Development, Fun & Recreation, and Physical Environment.
These areas are a good starting point — but they have limitations. They're generic, they don't distinguish between types of relationships (partner vs. family vs. friends), and they mix areas of very different natures.
LifeMap's Wheel of 10 Axes: The Next Level
LifeMap's Wheel of 10 Axes is an evolution of the traditional Wheel of Life, designed to be more precise, more complete, and more actionable.
The key differences are:
1. 10 axes instead of 6-8: The 10 axes cover all dimensions of a fulfilling life, organized into 4 categories (Foundations, Relationships, Purpose, and Resources).
2. Two scores per axis: Instead of a single satisfaction score, the Wheel of 10 Axes asks for two: TODAY (your current situation) and GOAL (where you want to be). The difference is your GAP — and the GAP is actionable information.
3. Integrated into a complete system: The Wheel isn't an isolated exercise — it's the diagnosis that feeds the action plan. It's integrated into LifeMap's Core Path and Advanced Path.
4. Visual and interactive: LifeMap's Wheel is an interactive radar chart you can adjust in real time and download as PDF.
The 10 Axes of the LifeMap Wheel
A. Foundations (teal #4A90A4):
Axis 01 — Spirituality & Values: The axis of who you are at the deepest level. Your values, your sense of purpose, your relationship with yourself and with something greater than you.
Axis 02 — Health & Vitality: Your physical, mental, and emotional energy. Not just the absence of illness — but the active presence of vitality.
Axis 03 — Mind & Emotions: Your mental health, emotional intelligence, your capacity to learn and manage what you feel.
B. Relationships (amber #D4A574):
Axis 04 — Partner & Love: The quality of your romantic relationship or your relationship with the possibility of love.
Axis 05 — Family: Your relationships with parents, children, siblings, and close family.
Axis 06 — Friends & Community: Your friendships, your support network, your sense of belonging.
C. Purpose (olive #7B9E6B):
Axis 07 — Purpose & Contribution: Your impact on the world, your legacy, what you do that matters beyond yourself.
Axis 08 — Work & Vocation: Your career, your business, your professional expression.
D. Resources (purple #9B7BB8):
Axis 09 — Finances & Wealth: Your financial health, income, wealth, and relationship with money.
Axis 10 — Time & Lifestyle: How you use your time, your quality of life, your work-life balance.
How to Interpret Your Wheel of Life
Once you have your scores, there are three ways to read your Wheel:
1. The overall shape: Is it relatively round or very irregular? A very irregular wheel indicates imbalance — some areas very high and others very low.
2. The biggest GAPs: Where is the difference between TODAY and GOAL greatest? Those are your highest-opportunity axes.
3. The Crystal Balls: Which axes, if neglected, break irreversibly? (Health, close relationships, values). Those are your Crystal Balls — the ones you can never drop.
Create Your Wheel of 10 Axes Now
LifeMap's Wheel of 10 Axes is completely free. It takes less than 10 minutes to fill out. When you're done, you can download it as PDF and use it as the starting point for your annual planning.