7 Areas of Life

I realized that when attempting a goal or mastering a skill, we sometimes get so focused on one thing that we let other areas of our life slide. You want to become an Iron Man so you train for 30 hours a week – after work – away from your family. Or maybe you want to become a Texas Hold’em champion and you let your diet slide as you gulp beer and down a bag of Doritos in one 4 hour sitting.

Life is to be continually expanded or it will slide into entropy. This vehicle called ‘life’ has no breaks on it. You can’t keep your car in neutral on a hill – you either roll back down the hill or you accelerate up the hill.

Moving forward or up the hill is almost always more difficult in the short term, but much more rewarding than a comfortable, non-challenged life.

Here are the 7 Areas of Life (as I see them):

The Spiritual Self – Your spiritual beliefs as you actually live them out. Stated generalized belief is not a belief if not lived out. If you are Jewish or Christian or Muslim or Agnostic – do you actually live out those teachings/beliefs in your daily life? Just say what you believe – chances are that we all have it wrong to some degree; we may as well be honest about it.

The Psychological Self – Thought life, beliefs, self talk, lies, truth, mental health and wholeness

The Physical Self – Often called “wellness” the absence of illness, the promotion of energetic, low negative-stress living, right eating

The Relational Self – Time with your children, brothers sisters, parents and grandparents. Healing old wounds. Improving communication, respect and relationships within your family.

Also, your dating life, sharing of affection with spouse or significant other. Developing love languages. Commitment.

The Educational Self - Expanding your knowledge through classes, clubs, organizations, books, CDs, DVDs, seminars, etc.

The Financial Self - Taking control of your cash-flow. Developing a plan. Setting goals and following through until success. Being an active learner. Becoming independent from a single outside source of compensation.

The Occupational Self – Work, business, ventures. Relationships with customers, clients, co-workers, supervisors, employees. Setting up healthy boundaries between work and home life.