During a session, I asked my client to select two essential areas that she would like to focus on in the Wheel of Life. She selected Personal Growth and Work & Career. She said Personal Growth was more important but while listing the things she wished to do in that area she switched to Work & Career and started talking about that instead. I see this pattern in most of my clients.

I call this the High Magnetic Area (HMA). There is one HMA among the 8 areas of wheel of life (career/work,Financial Security Money,Relationships/Romance,Physical / Environment,Health/Wellbeing,Family/Friends,Fun/Recreation,Personal Growth) which carries most importance. This area attracts maximum of your attention and does not let you rest or focus on other areas till the time you address its need. For most of the people this HMA is work.

Interestingly, HMAs have the habit of forming tough habits so if your work is your HMA, it will command maximum of your time, whether or not you are productive. This happens sub-consciously and that’s why some people are called workaholic while their productivity remains questionable.

Consequences of being slave to your HMA can be:

• Less satisfaction in other areas of life
• Ineffective performance at work despite long hours
• Ineffective leadership
• Feeling of being stretched too thin
• Feeling that only one area that’s flourishing for time being or maybe none
• Boredom, disinterest and disengagement from other areas of wheel
• Difficulty in achievement of goals
• Feeling of disillusionment, anxiousness, stress and burnout
• Abundance of excuses like “I don’t have time”

“I have so much of work”, “ Work is demanding” “You don’t understand my job”

You can identify your HMA and change it

HMAs are mostly the areas very tightly connected to your self-worth. At the risk of gender stereotyping, I bring you two examples. These are mere scenarios to help you understand this better:

For Men the HMA is work most of the times, making them spend long hours at work. But there are examples of successful men who leave their jobs and pick up new, interesting careers, associate with charities, focus on hobbies, write or travel. Their HMA has shifted from outside of them to inside of them.

With shift in lifestyles women have started drawing their self worth from working, earning, achieving accolades and hence their HMA too is work. However, there are times when successful and professional women opt to stay at home for their children. It is because as a mother, their HMA changes and they find maximum self worth in that role.

When people find self-worth somewhere else, or less and less reward from the present  they start looking at other areas of wheel of life. Often with life-changing events, a realization that HMAs have limited satisfaction sets in.

How is your Wheel of Life?

While the wheel of life is to denote the balance in all these areas, in effort to prioritise, we allow a few areas to take bottom rank and the ones that are unavoidable become HMAs. But while you are at it, contemplate whether your HMAs are really making a difference or are they purposelessly draining all your energy?

I am not asking you to de-prioritize finance, work or family. All I am saying is that let’s treat the wheel as wheel and not as line if you really want to extract maximum juice from your life.

Ask your self:

• What are the ingredients of your self-worth? (Is it only work, family and money)
• Looking at a long term and holistic picture of your life, what all you want your self-worth to consist?

Ways to widen your self-worth wheel:

• Be more productive and complete your work at office so you can keep your time and mind free.
• Identify your hobbies and interest and make time for them at least once a week
• Review your financial goals with a professional and tie them neatly with your work. Clarity brings focus.
• Touch each area of wheel at least once a week to keep wheel of life moving.

My objective is to help you live a well-balanced, productive and satisfying life. Do write to me on …….. If you have any questions.