Tuesday, May 03, 2011
30DLBL Day 1 - Your Life Wheel

Day 1 is the first day of the 30 days ahead. With the start of every journey, it’s important to know where we are starting. It’s like traveling from destination A to destination B – you have to first know where you are (A) to get to where you want to be (B). Hence, Day 1 is about getting clarity of your life right now. To do that, we’ll be using the life wheel.

Image © TPEB

1. Studies (7/10) - I feel that I have the capability to achieve more. My CGPA is 3.686, which is already above average to many. But don't forget, this is a very subjective matter. I could've done more to achieve a higher GPA. I haven't been putting in as much effort as I used to be. The time when I did my best was in Year 2, when I got onto the honour roll. Later in year 3, I guess I just went to school each day without a purpose. I got a C for Art Direction because I wasn't doing good for it, so I gave up altogether. And I'm feeling bitter over the others who are awarded Diploma with Merit. It's not healthy.
2.  Finance/Wealth (6/10) - The past few months have been good in terms of finance since I've been working part-time. But I think working has interfered my personal life. I had to choose between personal growth and working because money gives me the flexibility to fulfill my wants. I might have too many wants - buying a new MacBook Pro ($1.6k), travelling (Project Orion - $400+, Cambodia/Vietnam trip - spent $200 on flight ticket so far)... yep, that's all. I earn rougly $200-300 per project. Each project takes 3-4 days. At the same time, I'm still getting allowance from my brothers, albeit lesser. I'm using the allowance given to fulfill my wants. I don't think that's right. I could've used my work allowance to support myself financially though. Confused about this. Oh, I just opened a monthly savings account for myself. So each month, $50 will be automatically deposited from my existing account to that account. If I don't touch the money, I would be able to save $600 a year!
3. Health/Fitness (4/10) - DEFINITELY UNHEALTHY! I deserve the ratings. =o=... Barely exercising since completing a marathon in Dec '10, not eating right because I don't think I'm fat (good self-image, heh, but now I can totally feel my spare tyre *gasps*), sleeping late every night doing god-knows-what... and the list goes on.
4. Social/Friends (8/10) - I'm quite content with my current social circle. Although I had to rebuild a social circle 3 years ago, I'm doing rather well by now. I have a group of close friends whom I hang out with regularly and who teases me as always (*points to Bryan and Kenneth*). I'm still keeping in touch with secondary school friends but I think I can do more, especially with... my hubbies. I've been meeting new people recently from my roadtrips and work. That feels good. =)
5. Family (5/10) – I'm closer to my family now despite studying abroad. But I still have problems expressing myself freely. I hold back myself sometimes. I think I put my family as the last due to other commitments. For example, I rarely stay at home, even if I go back Johor, I don't stay for more than 3 days. My niece has been telling me to stay and it makes me feel awful. =(
6. Romance/Love (10/10) – Giving this a 10, because... it deserves a 10. =.= It's my first relationship and it's been good so far. We have our ups and downs but most of the time, I feel happy just thinking about it. Yay.
7. Recreation (10/10) – HAVING TOO MUCH FUN IN FACT! Roadtrips, gatherings, games, etc. etc.!
8. Contribution (1/10) – Contribution to the society. Sadly to say, I haven't been contributing to the society, what more the world. The other "beneficial" camp I joined was for Y Camp, organized by YMCA and Cabin Club camp where I gained much invaluable experience. It's something that has been on my mind for very long but haven't gotten to do it. Laziness and procrastination being reason number one.
9. Personal Growth (6/10) – I'm still not achievning my highest potential. There's more I can do. SP Rovers was a revenue where I could've achieved my highest potential. I think I wasn't strong enough to keep at it... Right now, my mind tells me to stay away from it. I'm shifting my focus to my design works. I'm not exactly good, but at least it's an interest that I've had for years. People tell me I can do it, so I think I should continue pursuing this interest.
10. Spiritual (4/10) - The question asked for this segment is: "How in tuned are you with the universe/your higher self?" Hmm. That's a tough question. I gave myself a 4 because... 5 is the passing rating. I don't think I pass and 4 is slight below 5... Religion-wise, I don't pray like my parents do, but there're core principles that I strongly believe in. Those principles can be applied across all religions, whether you're a Buddhist, a Catholic, a Muslim, etc. E.g. filial piety, not to hurt others, among others. If we go further in, where the spiritual aspect is concerned, I'm not yet in tuned with my higher self. Being in tuned with my highesr self, meaning, having a life purpose, understanding why I exist and why I am here in this world. Two days ago, I spent the whole night thinking about my life purpose. After going through 70 bullet points of possible answers, I have yet to find it. I'll attempt to do it in another sitting.
11. Self-image (6/10) – 6 upon 10, because, again, 5 is the passing rate and 6 is slightly above it. I value myself as a person. I don't think lowly of myself. Not hurting myself is one of the ways of loving myself. I believe in my abilities but lately I've been doubting myself a lot. I haven't been very confident as I used to be. Others' opinions affect me more than ever. That is why I'm giving myself a 6.

Which are your lowest scoring areas and why?
"All 11 segments are equally important in living your best life. Some people may think they can just ignore 3-4 segments and score a 0-1 there – but it doesn’t work that way. Whenever there’s a part of your life that is blocked (or put on hold), a part of you is blocked too."

Contribution (1/10) - It's always on my mind but I never got around doing it. It's something I deem non-urgent. *guilty*

Spiritual (4/10) - Thinking about my life purpose and my existence has never bothered me till now. I'm so caught up in paper chase that I haven't slowed down to think about what am I living for. I do think about it sometimes, but I haven't found the answer.

Health/fitness (4/10) -I scored this low because I think I'm in denial. =.= I don't think I'm fat (I still think so!) so I don't look after my diet. I used to avoid oily food because I was overweight. I also used to exercise regularly so that I could lose weight. I eventually lost 8kg after years being overweight. Now that I have a normal BMI, I jog occasionally, but it has gone... stagnant after the completion of my virgin marathon. =.= It was also when I started my internship. Internship has taken up so much of my energy and time that I stopped exercising. And then it became a routine. *shrugs*

Family (5/10) - Family is the aspect that I always put on hold because I always tell myself, my family will be there, no matter what. I'm in Singapore most of the time. To be with my family means I have to go back to Johor. Going back Johor sounds like a chore. Commuting takes up almost 2-3 hours of my day, from packing to waiting for the bus to queueing at immigration customs. 

Are you happy with your wheel?
Not really. If I were to stick with these scores forever, I would die in regrets, especially my score for family (5/10). I want a change. I can do so much more but why am I stuck at this stage? First things first, I'm gonna learn how to say no to Quadrant 4 activities - not important and not urgent. One of them, curb my Facebook (haven't been on Facebook for 2 days! *proud*) and TV addiction.

Part 3: Action

What are your biggest priorities moving forward to achieve your ideal 10/10 wheel?

I'm still distance away from the ideal 10/10 wheel (10/10 is the ideal life), so I shall prioritise on just a few for now, mainly family, health/fitness and personal growth.

Contribution aligns with what I'm doing next month - Project Orion, a turtle conservation project. =) That shall my strategy to up that score. Spirituality is the reason why I'm doing this challenge - to discover my inner self and to find out what I really want to do with my life. With this, I'm rearranging my list of goals!

In order of priority:
Family

1. To spend in Johor at least 4 days a week.
2. To bring Jamie out every evening when I'm home.

Spiritual

1. To complete this challenge.
2. To discover my life purpose at the end of the challenge. Achieved!

Personal Growth

1. To spend 5 hours a week on Photoshop. This goal will be integrated with Goal #2.
2. To set up an online portfolio.
3. To complete character development for Recycle Factory.
4. To work towards Cambodia/Vietnam trip.

Health/Fitness

1. To exercise 3 days a week and to increase mileage.
2. To complete a 7-day detox diet. Dropped the goal due to time constraints and the lack of resources.

Contribution

1. To achieve the most out of Project Orion.

The Challenge So Far

Besides this 30-day challenge, I'm cultivating the habit to be an early riser. It's been 2 days since I sleep at 11pm and wake up at 7am. It's for my health and to increase my productivity in the morning. I'm not sure if it's really that good of a habit, but I'll try.

So far, the challenge has been a breeze. I haven't met with any obstacle yet, but to execute the plan, I have to forgo a few events, which were once important to me. I know it's the right decision to do.

I'm still optimistic at this stage, let's hope the optimism persists till the last day! =) Chai Yen, JIAYOU TOO!

Labels: 30DLBL