Level 10 Life | How to Make It Work for You
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How satisfied are you with your life? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being over-the-moon great, where are you? How can you improve your score? These questions are the essence of something I’ve seen a lot of on the web lately: The Level 10 Life. The first time I saw it, I had no idea what it was. Then I started doing some research.
Hal Elrod, who wrote The Miracle Morning, is the creator of the Level 10 life, but just by googling “Level 10 Life” you can see that it has taken on a life of its own!
What is the Level 10 Life?
So, just what is the Level 10 Life? It is primarily a method of living your life intentionally, instead of standing back and watching life happen to you. So often it seems people end up somewhere in life and seem to be confused about how they got there. I’ve seen it happen to people in the areas of relationships, finances, careers, and family. I’ve seen it in college students, mothers of preschoolers, mid-career changers, and empty-nesters. I’ve seen it in myself. This sense that I’m not sure how it happened, but I don’t recognize my own life! The Level 10 Life is both a cure and a preventative for that “life happens while you’re making other plans” syndrome.
Briefly stated, a person who is implementing the Level 10 Life system will evaluate his/her life in 10 areas, on a scale of 1 to 10. The 10 areas are Health & Fitness, Physical Environment, Giving/Volunteering, Fun & Recreation, Marriage/Relationships, Career, Finances, Spirituality/Faith, Personal Development, and Family & Friends. Taking an honest assessment of yourself is the first step on the road towards living a Level 10 life.
My Practice of the Level 10 Life
I do this a few times a year, using a bar graph in my bullet journal. But just knowing where you are isn’t where the magic happens; it’s what you do with that knowledge that can change your life.
In addition to the more formal times of assessment, I also make monthly mini-goals in each Level 10 area. This mini-goals are based on whether I’m mostly satisfied or dissatisfied with each area.
For example, in November, I made at least one mini-goal in each area. I won’t share them all, because some are personal, but here’s a sampling:
- Family and Friends: Thanksgiving dinner
- Career: Get one or more weeks ahead on my to-do list for blog
- Health and Fitness: lose five pounds
- Personal Growth: read two books
- Faith: read and study Romans
You can see that these are not overwhelming, and some are things that might have happened anyway (like Thanksgiving dinner). But by making a record of what I want to accomplish in each area, I can be more intentional about growing in each area.
When I first started evaluating my life with the Level 10 process, I scored a two in a few places. However, by being intentional, my lowest score in November was a four. Still not great but making progress.
You should also know that it is normal to go up and down in each area. For example, when I was not working, and our finances were really tight, the Finances section of my graph scored a two. But now, it is scoring a six. Why still low, since we’re not pinched? Because I want to make more income from blogging, so I can eventually only work from home.
How is Your Level 10 Life?
If you choose to use this system – and I encourage you to do so – it ties in beautifully with major goal setting. I’ll be posting soon a series on setting goals and will be using the Level 10 Life as a springboard.
