Wheel of Emotions

Turn “I feel bad” into clear, specific emotions with a research-based emotion wheel that helps clients name what’s really going on.

Assessment · 15 min · Print-ready PDF · Free download

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Preview Assessment · 15 min

When to Use This Tool

Client describes feeling 'bad' or 'off' but cannot name the emotion with any specificity

Client's emotional vocabulary is limited to a few broad categories that don't capture nuance

Client wants to understand their emotional patterns but has no framework to organize them

How to Introduce This Tool Plus

This wheel maps four core emotions outward into increasingly specific layers - u...

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Interactive Preview Assessment · 15 min

Tool Classification

Domain

Life Coaching

Type

Assessment

Phase

Discovery Reflection

Details

15 min Opener As-needed

Topics

Emotions Self-Care Mindset

For the Coaching Practitioner

Plus

Pathway Builder 🔒

Coaching Scenarios Plus

1 The analytically dominant executive who describes every emotional state as 'stressed'

Context

A 46-year-old VP of engineering at a software company comes to coaching sessions well-prepared, process-oriented, and precise about technical matters. When asked about his emotional state, he uses three words interchangeably: stressed, fine, frustrated. He is not being evasive — his emotional vocabulary is genuinely limited to high-level categories. The Wheel of Emotions gives him a taxonomy built for this problem: it starts with his broad labels and maps them outward to increasingly specific emotional territory.

How to Introduce

The engineering framing is an asset here. 'You work with precision every day — you know there's a difference between a 4...

2 The client processing a demotion who says she's 'over it' but clearly isn't 🔒

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3 coaching scenarios with introduction language, observation guides, debrief maps, and red flags

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For professional coaches and coaching practitioners

Tool Flow Plus

See what this tool requires and produces in a coaching engagement

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