Just over a year ago, in March 2021, I burnt out.
The stress and anxiety that were flickering under the surface burst into flames and I was completely out of action for 3 days.
No work. No socialising. No planning. No housework.
I ate, slept and cried.
Honestly, I probably should have taken more time off. It has taken until very recently to start to feel more like myself and build up my energy levels again.
Hello wheel
Around the same time, I did the “wheel of life” exercise for the first time. The original concept is attributed to Paul J. Meyer but if you google it you can find many different examples. The idea is to measure how happy you are in different areas of your life and work towards creating a balance so that you end up with a wheel that can roll.
The areas in the wheel I worked with were:
- Career
- Finance
- Health / Fitness
- Family and friends
- Romance / Love
- Recreation / Creativity / Fun
- Personal growth
- Self-image
- Spiritual
Well, that made things very clear. I was looking at a tight spiky lump. It wasn’t going anywhere and made it very obvious why I was feeling so out of control.
In the time since, I have created several more wildly shaped “wheels” at regular intervals.
Until yesterday.
They see me rolling…
I went through the exercise and not only do I have a lovely (almost) round wheel, but it’s quite big too!
It makes me really happy and proud to see the progress I’ve been making in creating balance in my life and prioritising me and my mental health.
If you are starting to explore your personal growth, or recovering from a difficult period with your mental health, I would highly recommend taking a look at creating your own wheel.
Sometimes when you are going through a period of change or growth it’s hard to see the progress while you are still making it.
For me, the wheel is a tool to to show just how far I’ve come and to remind me that I’m rolling in the right direction.
