Your Happiness Test
(excerpt from Jeanne's book 'Living Your Best Life Abroad')
Imagine a beautiful wheel that is divided into 8 sections, your Art-of-Living-Abroad Wheel. Label each of the eight areas as indicated below.
If the inner centre of the wheel is a 0 and the perimeter is a 10, please ask yourself:
1. How happy am I with my
- LIVING ENVIRONMENT (home environment, city/suburb) Is this environment allowing me to be at my best?
- RELATIONSHIP TO YOUR PARTNER (does it provide me with what is really important to me, with love, understanding and emotional support)
- FAMILIY AND FRIENDS (are they deep and satisfying)
- HEALTH AND WELLBEING (do I eat healthy food, do I exercise, do I have regular medical check-ups, do I get enough rest)
- LEISURE TIME (how much joy do I have in my life, what kind of things do I do to relax and feel energised)
- PERSONAL GROWTH (this may include spiritual practice, reading and taking classes or workshops to continue to grow as an individual)
- WORK(Do I enjoy what I am doing, is this the kind of work/environment that makes me happy)
- FINANCES (Do I pay my bills on time, do I spend within my means, do I have a plan for my future)
2. Now draw a line from one score to the next.The result is your personal 'Art of-Living-Abroad Wheel' that reflects how to feel about your life right now.
Please ask yourself: Will my wheel roll smoothly or will it give me a bumpy ride?
3. Which 3 areas would you like to improveor change in your life right now?
4. Choose your top two areas that need improvement,
(e.g. your relationship to your partner and your living environment) and start making changes during the next two weeks in these areas.
Example:
Changes in your relationship to your partner:
- decide to spend 15 min. quality time with your husband/wife every day and exchange your feelings and thoughts of the day
- bring a babysitter in once a week (2-3 hours may be enough to go for a long walk and/or a dinner)
Living Environment:
- unclutter a room every day
- get rid of the piles of paper in your kitchen, .create a romantic atmosphere in your master bedroom (this will benefit your relationship at the same time)
- touch up your kitchen
- paint a wall in your living room in your favorite color
You will see: changes, no matter how small they are, can have a large impact on other areas in your life.
Now simply get started, have fun
and
transform your life!
