Pie Chart Reflection Exercise: Gratitude & What I Overlook
A pie chart can reveal what lists sometimes hide. This simple reflection exercise invites you to map gratitude—and the parts of life you tend to overlook—by translating your freewriting into color and shape. As you sketch, the proportions you choose often illuminate what holds your attention, what quietly sustains you, and what you may be missing. It is a gentle way to see gratitude from a fresh angle and to notice the balance, surprises, and meaning that emerge when you give your inner landscape a visual form.
Materials You’ll Need
Scrap paper for brainstorming
Sketchbook or journal
Something round to trace (cup, bowl, tape roll)
Pens, paints, or markers (limit to 3 colors)
Optional: washi tape, colored pencils, stickers
1. Begin with Freewriting
On a piece of scrap paper, write down words, people, places, or moments that express what gratitude means in your life.
Think broadly and personally—start with the obvious, like family, friends, health, nature, warm coffee, laughter, and let yourself wander.
As you write, you may discover less obvious things—small quiet blessings—that you hadn’t considered at first. That’s the magic of this exercise.
2. First Pie Chart: “My Gratitude”
Once your list feels full for now:
Open your sketchbook or journal.
Draw a large circle (trace a bowl, lid, or anything round on your desk).
Choose only three colors (pens, paints, markers, etc.).
Limiting colors encourages creativity and helps you focus on meaning, not perfection.Assign space within the circle to each idea on your list.
Ask yourself: How much of my heart-space does this take up right now?
Some pieces will be large, others small. There are no wrong proportions.
As you shade, label, or decorate each slice, let the drawing become a quiet reflection on the importance of each part of your life.
3. The Discovery Moment
As you work, you may notice new pieces of gratitude you hadn’t written down—or that some parts of your life deserve more space than you realized. This is the true power of the pie chart:
What begins as one reflection often leads you to another.
4. Second Pie Chart (Optional): “What I Overlook”
After finishing the first chart, ask yourself:
What do I forget to be grateful for?
What brings me joy but rarely gets acknowledged?
What supports my life quietly in the background?
Create a second circle titled “What I Overlook.”
Fill it the same way—slices of unspoken gratitude, unnoticed ease, simple rituals, silent support.
5. Reflection Questions
After completing one or both pie charts, take a moment to write or think about:
Which slice surprised me the most?
Which part of my life did I give more space—or less—than I expected?
What might change if I honored these overlooked parts more often?
This exercise is not about precision or artistic skill—it’s about seeing your life in circles of meaning, noticing what holds you, and what you’ve been too busy to notice.