Life Satisfaction Score Calculator

The overall score is just the average of your eight ratings, so it can look great even if a few domains are rated much higher than others. The balance score instead measures the coefficient of variation (standard deviation divided by mean) across all eight ratings and converts it so 100 means every domain is rated identically — the more your ratings are spread apart, the lower it drops, regardless of what the average looks like.

The overall score uses an arithmetic mean of your eight ratings, while the fulfillment index uses a geometric mean of the same numbers. Mathematically, a geometric mean is dragged down much harder by one very low rating than an arithmetic mean is, so if you have a single neglected domain, the fulfillment index will read noticeably lower than the overall score even though both are built from identical inputs.

It takes the gap between your current average rating and your single lowest-rated domain, divides that gap by the maximum possible spread (8 points, since ratings run 1-10), and expresses the result as a percentage. It's an estimate of how much your overall score would rise if you focused effort on your weakest domain alone and brought it up to match your existing average — not a prediction of how quickly that would actually happen.

The Wheel of Life framework this tool is based on treats romantic-partner satisfaction as distinct from broader social connection because the two can move independently — someone can have strong friendships and family ties while their romantic life (or lack of one) drags down a separate score, and vice versa. Keeping them as separate 1-10 ratings lets the balance and gap calculations catch that kind of split accurately.