Friday, December 28, 2007

Reinventing the Wheel

Trying to make your 2008 Resolutions?

You could use the old stand-bys of "Lose weight, make more money" and the like. Or...you could resolve to make changes where they'll really matter to you.

One of my favorite People Who Don't Know I Exist, Kimberly Wilson of Hip Tranquil Chick fame, had this as a suggestion in her book, Hip Tranquil Chick. It's easy and eye-opening all at once.

Take this life wheel (or draw your own) and color in each section in relation to how satisfied you are with each element. For example, if you are partially satisfied with your career, partially fill up the section labeled "career." (I told you it was easy!)



Do it right now. I'll wait.









Mine looked like this:


I'm pretty well satisfied with my home life. There's always room for improvement in any situation, but as a whole, I am happy. Same goes for relationships, though I know I need more close relationships in my life.

My health, finances, creativity and spirituality all fall at about 50%. I haven't been eating very well or getting any exercise but I'm pretty healthy besides that. My finances need some work. And though an easy answer would be "MORE MONEY!" I know that if I really worked hard at it, I could arrange my finances better - but again, I'm not poor or even really hurting badly for money. My creativity. Hmm...has anyone else noticed a little dry spell around here lately? Though I love to blame lack of time for not posting, a lot of it was that I didn't have any of those "OMG! I have to write about this!" moments - the kind of moments that drive me to be creative despite my lacking time. And finally, Spirituality; I've talked about this before. I struggle with finding a place to call 'my own' that shares my ideals. No big surprise there.

Now those little measly green ones: Career and Self-Care. Obviously the areas that need the most improvement, they actually fell a spot from when I did the wheel the first time. I can't give them a zero, because my job is somewhat fulfilling. It's fulfilling my bank account, anyhow, and that's more than a lot of people have. And I do small things to make myself happy. Though this mostly includes eating cookies and that drags down Health.


Step two is to think of a few things you could do to improve your most low-rated areas. I'll be honest, this is not as easy as coloring. But it is the important part. They have to be things you can do RIGHT NOW. Unlike my rationalization that "Once I lose weight...then I can buy a nice dress...THEN I can start going to church." (I know! My way of thinking surprises even me sometimes.)


So, starting with those little green guys, here are my steps:
SELF CARE -
1. Get a hair cut. I've longed for a nice cut for over a year. I finally got a gift card (I guess that makes it only partially "Self" Care) to my favorite salon, so this will be easily accomplished. I know it will give me a better attitude when it comes to getting myself ready every day.
2. Practice Yoga more frequently. I'm always saying I'm going to do this and don't. But it always gets put off because I ENJOY IT and things enjoyed are always pushed behind things that are NOT enjoyed. The Rule Of Mommies, no?

Completing these steps would put SELF CARE at least to 50%.

CAREER -
1. Keep resume polished and keep looking for jobs - I've applied a couple places, but haven't put forth a full effort. Part of me is very scared to leave this job - I've taken it on as a large part of my identity. But the other part of me is scared to stay and just be "used to" being unhappy with my days.
2. Keep a happier attitude at work - Change your mind and change the world, right? You are only as unhappy as you tell yourself you are. Since I told myself this a few weeks back, I've made a big effort to deflect people's bad attitudes instead of absorbing them. It's working pretty well. And for the time being, it makes this job a whole heck of a lot better.

I can't guess how happy I'll be if and when I leave this job. The main part is going to be keeping up with #2 - despite my employer.

HEALTH -
1. Eat healthier
2. Exercise more (Big DUH's, eh?)

FINANCES -
1. Plan grocery list better so I'm not spending so much unnecessary money (geez, I can't believe the place I blow all my money is the GROCERY STORE! Blech! What kind of woman am I!?!?)
2. Pay bills on time. Avoid fees. Keep happy creditors. Win-Win.

CREATIVITY -
1. Carry a notepad again so I can write down ideas when they strike
2. Follow through with crafty ideas. (In other words, instead of saving all that fabric, actually MAKE SOMETHING. Oooh. Bright Idea!)

SPIRITUALITY -
1. Attend service at a church. Just one. To see how it goes. If it doesn't work out...
2. Attend service at another church.


Looks like Mid-February or so, I should have one magenta-filled Life Wheel! Or, maybe a tad longer.


I'm really anxious to find out what ratings your Life Wheel got. And...what you plan to do to raise them up.

11 comments:

Stacey said...

Oh you've so been missed.

Aah the dreaded life wheel. That's when I have to take a long hard look at myself and realize how dissatisfied I might be with certain things.

Ok, Career...great. I complain about silly things but on the whole I really enjoy my job. I just don't like the fact that I have to work.

Relationships- ck - I feel good there

Health - ck...sort of...I still need to drop some lbs

Home environment- yep I think I'm good there.

Spirituality - I would like to find a church but beyond that I feel I am a spiritual person.

Self care, creativity, finances all need work!!!

I always get lost in there with kids and everything else. I'm the last person I take care of. I know it...but I don't change it.

Ok, now I'm depressed. Only kidding...2008 will be as good as I make it. I know I have the power to change anything I don't like in my life so there it is....

Whew that was long. I just missed you so much I felt like we had to have kind of a long "conversation"

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Smooches

Whiskeymarie said...

I could use a little "more" in the career dept, but I can't complain really. Great pay, great hours. it just isn't "doing it" for me anymore.

Finances, pretty great, could make a few improvements. I like to make money and I would always like to make more.

Relationships, awesome. Could use a few more "couple" friends, but otherwise great.

Creativity. Seriously lacking (blog excluded). Working on it.

Spirituality, not really a spiritual person, so this is moot.

Home environment, awesome and lovely.

Self care, need to expand my horizons a bit. I need something to fuel my fire a bit. We'll see where this one goes.

Health, need improvement. Need to exercise again and eat better. This will be possible only after the holidays and the cookies are gone.

Overall, not too bad!

Pollyanna said...

UGh. That looks like a long project. I don't think I have the energy to do it. :) How sad is that? I just hope that whatever your new resolutions include, that you have something in there about blogging more!!!!!

exskindiver said...

welcome back.
happy holidays,
happy new year too!
i will do this wheel, but off the bat i will say for sure i lack the spirituality piece of the pie.

thanks for the extensive visit amy.
you are such a great blog buddy.
~chesca

Miss Patti said...

I have been just thinking about what I wanted mine to be this year.

Brillig said...

Howdy, darling! Look at you... BLOGGING! Wow!

Your list is good, and attainable (though not as easy as coloring...haha) and I wish you the best of luck.

However, just filling out that wheel makes me cower in fear, so I think I'll avoid it. That's my answer to how to solve the problems in my life--run away and hide. Works every time. Uh...

MommasWorld said...

Your list looks GREAT. Looking at it yiou seem to be right on track with everything. There will always be ways to improve your life that is just how it goes. Ever changing.

Home Environment - Does this mean furnishings or how everyone interacts at home? We interact well and I have all the furniture I need and then some. Well, we could always use more bookcases (kids love their books).

Sprituality - We have a good relationship with God but we do not always go to Church.

Creativity - I have that in spades. I have three 4X8 shelves in the storage room full of craft items. I love to create whether it is painting, sewing, knitting, drawing, etc.

Self Care - I might have to work on this because I know I give twice as much of myself to others than I do to myself. I have been trying to work on this by taking time off of work and my blog. I ended up doing more for others since I had more time. Hey, but I had good intentions for myself.

Health - I am my own worst enemy. If I could stop injuring myself my health would be better.

Relationships - I have great friends, close with all of my family members near and far. I do not currently have a husband or even a boyfriend but that is by choice. I am just not ready to take on someone else's issues because I would feel the need to fix everything for them. I still get asked out so I am not worried about never getting involved again. In time maybe.

Finances - Things are looking up. I just received a raise, promotion and will receive a bonus. I am like you...one of my largest bills is Groceries but I do have a 17 and 19 year old. One part I could improve on is setting aside more money for the future.

Career - I have my dream job and I really enjoy it.

Kristina said...

While I can honestly say I'm too tired to even color right now, at least I'm all inspired. That's huge! I'm fully against (for me) the normal "resolutions", but had a few ideas for new goals, but lacked inspiration. So, go you! :)

Sugar Kane said...

My wheel is more of a flat tire.

Enjoy the salon trip. I've been meaning to post about a recent expirement with organic shampoo and conditioner. Totally made me think of you. I also cut about 13 inches off of my hair last week and donated it. One of the best things I've ever done.

Virtualsprite said...

So glad to have you back!

I love the wheel thing and I'm so impressed by the thought you put into yours and your goals. Simply amazing, my dear! I know you will succeed.

Cherann said...

You forgot Spirituality #3:

Get married in the church you find most satisfying. Which reminds me, did you ever change your wedding colors? I remember you said you were going to do the colors of the Minnesota Vikings (what a true fan!). :-)

Missed ya butrfly. Thanks for the x'mas wish!