Refocus For 2025: The 7 Circles Exercise
It’s so easy to get caught up in the chaos of daily life and forget to check in with ourselves. If you're feeling like you're not making the progress you want in key areas, it’s time to hit the reset button. I’ve come back to this simple exercise from The One Thing by Gary Keller, and it’s been a game changer. It forces me to reflect on the bigger picture and prioritize what matters most—something we often forget as we dive deeper into the grind.
Here’s a quick way to recalibrate and refocus:
- Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high) in each of the seven circles of life: spiritual, physical, personal, key relationships, job, business, and finances.
- Identify the one area you feel most confident about. Celebrate where you're succeeding and acknowledge the hard work that got you there.
- Pinpoint the one area where you need to make the biggest change. This is where the real magic happens. It’s about being brutally honest and choosing one area to focus your energy.
What’s key here is that you don’t have to be perfect in every circle. Progress in just one area creates the momentum needed to propel the others forward. It’s a domino effect (the good decision that leads to other good decisions).
Even though we're in the "New Year" season, this exercise isn’t just about making resolutions. It’s about strategic focus. Reflection, when done right, can shift the trajectory of your next year. Imagine if you could make meaningful progress in just one area over the next 30 days? By this time next year, you’d be miles ahead.
Which circle will you tackle first?