The 360º Look @ Life™, Part 1: Defining the Ten Life Areas

Part 1 in the series “Your Life is the Most Important Thing in Your Life”

In our last article, we laid out the idea that success in life as a whole takes more planning than success in any one area of life (makes sense, no?). So now we’re going to put some basic definitions on each life area to give us a basis from which to incorporate them into our 360-degree life plan.

Career
For most of us, our career is how we make our living, but the truth is, there’s more to it than that. Some of have jobs we don’t consider to be our careers, and some of us have callings outside of our jobs that motivate and define us. So for our purposes, we’re going to discuss career in terms of our life’s purpose, whether we earn our living from fulfilling that purpose or not.

Finance
There are two parts to the financial picture: The revenue we produce and the wealth we create. We find that these areas correspond directly with our attitudes and how we view them. So the financial arena we’ll discuss in the 360-degree life plan will address how we live, think and feel relative to money, prosperity and wealth.

Family
We don’t all define family the same way. Not all of us have spouses, partners or kids, and we don’t all have extended families, either. So we consider the people within our closest circle family for purposes of this plan. As one of our ten major life areas, the people we share our lives with are an important influence, so the way we handle those relationships has a major impact on our overal success.

Social
Our social lives cover everything involving other people. Yes, that’s broad, but it’s important we plan the way we show up with our friends, our networks, our colleagues, even the communities we serve through volunteerism and service.

Spiritual
The spiritual involves how we relate to questions such as Who am I? Why am I here? What is life all about? So it’s no wonder it’s an important component of our plan for a successful life. Our spiritual pursuits give our life purpose and serve as a guide to navigate virtually every challenge we face.

Recreation
It’s easy for ambitious, driven people to relegate recreation to an indulgence, a frivolity we might allow ourselves if we have time. But they call it re-creation for a reason. Part of a plan for a successful ife includes purposefully addressing how we recharge and ready ourselves through our leisure life.

Creativity
Creativity is the backbone of professional success, and it plays a profound role in our personal happiness. Our section on creativity is provided by a professional artist and designer who has worked in the creative arena for 30 years.

Learning
In this age of constant change, we all are constant students. How we learn is a foundation of how we create a plan for a successful life.

Environment
The environments in which we spend our time – our work environments, our homes, our social arenas – all affect our emotions, our outlook, our entire being. Planning and managing how we relate to our environment impacts our whole life.

Health
If we don’t maintain our health, little else matters. In our lives today, lived for the most part in offices and on sofas, we have to be proactive in making sure we keep our bodies fueled, energized and protected. A plan for management of our health is a core component of a plan for a successful life.

These elements cover every aspect of our lives. True success depends not only on planning for each area, but planning in a way that integrates them. The next installment of theWealthSource blog will expand on how to plan for effectiveness in each of these life areas, and will be followed by a clear program to integrate them for a 360-degree life plan.

Kim Sawyer is an Executive Coach and President of theWealthSource®. He provides individual and group coaching, training and facilitation, and he speaks to corporate and professional audiences around the country.