From Surviving to Thriving: A New Way to Reflect on Your Year
- Jason Wetzler
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
I'm at our mid-year team development training as an Oregon FFA state officer. Six of us, all recent high school grads, have been traveling around Oregon speaking about leadership, agriculture, and education. This weekend, however, is about our own leadership development.
"Let's open up our Learnbooks to page 17 where we'll find the Wheel of Life," our facilitator instructs.
"Another cheesy personality assessment..." I think to myself.
"I know what you're thinking, 'Another personality assessment,' but I assure you this one is different."
Our facilitator begins to describe Zig Ziglar's Wheel of Life assessment and its purpose. There are typically between 8 and 12 categories, such as health, relationships, and finances, and you rate your current satisfaction in each category from 1 to 10, with 1 being completely dissatisfied and 10 being completely satisfied.
I begin the assessment, and it doesn't take long for me to realize just how out of whack parts of my life are. I hear the facilitator's voice in my head as I rate each category, "The information is only as good as you are honest." The experiences I'd had over the past few months had been incredibly fulfilling, but my diet of Mountain Dew and gas station burritos had been even more filling. I hadn't exercised in weeks, and the last time I stepped on the scale I was 25 pounds heavier than when I graduated.
I solemnly mark a "2" in the health spoke of the wheel.
I vividly remember the feeling that came with the self-awareness that assessment provided. I hadn't felt like myself in a few months, but I told myself it was just part of the phase of life I was in. Simply by taking the time to be honest with myself in a structured way, I suddenly had a path forward.
In last week's newsletter, we discussed the six steps to turn desire into reality. This week, we'll clarify what those desires are by using a framework for reflection. Finally, we'll codify that information to show exactly where we need to focus in the upcoming year.
If we spend just a few minutes clarifying where we are, we can better understand where we want to go. If you'd like to go from surviving to thriving in every aspect of your life, here's how to do it.
Wheel of Life
The first step is to take the same assessment I did as a state officer. For ease of use, I've created a .pdf for both students and adults that you can download below. My recommendation would be to print them off and physically color them in to the number you're giving yourself for each category. As a reminder, the scale goes from 1 (completely dissatisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied).
Remember, the information is only as good as you are honest.
Surviving, Transitioning, or Thriving
Once you've assigned a number for each area of your life, the next step will be to color code your assessment. Anything scored 1 to 4 is surviving and will be colored red. 4-7 is transitioning and will be colored yellow. 8-10 is thriving and will be colored green.
Finally, draw an arrow down the middle of each category in the direction that area of your life is heading. For example, you may have rated health & wellness as a 6, but lately you just joined a new fitness class with friends and are optimistic about it so the arrow would be pointing towards the 10.
Reflection Questions
Finally, you'll answer a few short questions about your assessment as a whole to give you an idea of where action needs to be taken. Some questions may become apparent as you take the assessment, but I have found the questions below to be helpful in revealing key insights.
Where am I thriving, and what habits or supports make that possible?
Where am I surviving, and what is draining me?
Which surviving areas matter most to shift next year?
Which thriving areas need protection so they don’t slip?
For each surviving area, ask:
What is one small shift that would move me toward thriving?
For each thriving area, ask:
What boundaries or habits will keep this area thriving next year?
If you feel like you've been simply surviving, then I hope a few minutes invested in this reflection tool will help. Here's to thriving in the year to come.
Fact
According to psychology research, most adults spend over half the year in “survival mode” without realizing it.
Action
Print your Wheel of Life and color it in before the day ends. It takes five minutes and gives you a year’s worth of insight.
Question
Where in your life are you accepting “surviving” as normal?
Quote
“You cannot grow what you will not look at.” - James Clear
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