The 7 Dimensions of Being in Life
A conversation on what really matters — and how COROS AI helps us take care of it.
We’ve been putting in good work at COROS lately. Long hours, deep conversations. And one thread has come into full view — something that’s always been with us but now has a name, a shape, a clarity.
We call them the Seven Dimensions of Being in Life.
Being isn’t a fixed trait or a checkbox on a form. Being unfolds. It moves. It struggles. It adapts. It learns. And as it moves through time, through challenges and relationships, it encounters concern.
Some concerns are loud and obvious. Others are quiet but shape everything. But no matter what path you’re on, if you’re human, you are navigating some combination of these dimensions — every single day.
COROS AI is built to walk with you through them.
Why We Begin with the Self
The first dimension is Self.
In this post-industrial, post-traditional world — where collective narratives are fragmented and inherited structures often fail us — the self becomes the ground we stand on.
It’s the place where you wrestle with self-worth, where you build or lose confidence, where your moods rise and fall, and where your capacity to act begins.
Now, we make a distinction between being and self. Being occurs as a self. That’s how we show up. Some traditions aim for selflessness or dissolution of ego. That’s not our concern. We don’t aim to erase the self, but to help it flourish.
This isn’t about narcissism or self-centeredness. It’s about becoming someone who can navigate, who can suffer and recover, who can learn, lead, adapt, and build. The self that grows in coherence becomes capable of caring for everything else — work, family, health, belonging, meaning, and the world.
Our Lineage: Honoring the 13 Domains
Our articulation of these seven dimensions draws inspiration from the brilliant work of Fernando Flores, Terry Winograd, and their collaborators, whose 1986 publication Observation and Design in the Concern-Oriented Systems Approach introduced the 13 Human Domains of Concern.
Their insights were foundational. We owe them a deep bow of gratitude.
What we’ve done here is not a 1:1 translation or simplification. Rather, we’ve distilled and reimagined the 13 into a set of seven dimensions that reflect today’s lived realities. Some of their original categories, like Play, now live across all dimensions. Others have been grouped together or reframed. But the spirit remains: humans are not random. Our concerns follow patterns. And when we name them, we can navigate them.
The Seven Dimensions of Being in Life
Each of the following is a domain where human beings suffer, strive, evolve, and care. None of them exists in isolation. They are not hierarchical. They weave through each other. A shift in one will often ripple into the others.
1. Self
Your dignity, confidence, and capacity to grow into who you aspire to be.
Self is the ground from which everything grows. It is where the questions of self-worth, confidence, identity, emotional resilience, moods, and capability live. Breakdowns here show up as impostor syndrome, self-criticism, and an assessment that you are not good enough. This is the dimension where you learn to struggle and adapt, flourish and transform through engagement with the world. It is the concern with your ability to cope with change, learn, build skills, grow, and navigate what really matters to you. It is also the space of rejuvenation, where profound change can occurs and your way of being in the world transforms.
Examples of concerns:
"I feel like a fraud."
"I want to become a better communicator."
"I don’t think I’m good enough to lead this team."
"I’m too old to start over."
"I keep failing at things I care about."
2. Work
Your contribution, livelihood, and ambition in the world.
Work is where your energy meets the world’s demands — a domain filled with aspirations, breakdowns, and assessments of performance, recognition, stability, and growth. It holds your job, career, finances, and the broader concern of being useful or seen. The desire to make something of yourself, to achieve, to provide, and to be valued lives here. Breakdowns may show up as stagnation, overwhelm, burnout, imposter syndrome, or feeling underutilized or overexposed.
Examples of concerns:
"I think I might get fired."
"My manager doesn’t see my value."
"I’m burned out but can’t afford to quit."
"I don’t know what I should be doing with my life."
"I want to switch careers but I’m afraid of losing income."
3. Health
Your body, energy, emotions, and ability to function.
Health covers the physical, emotional, and energetic terrain of your being. It includes illness, vitality, aging, stress, and rest. It’s where the breakdowns of exhaustion, anxiety, disconnection, or chronic conditions show up — and where care, restoration, discipline, and attention live. It is not just about survival but about the capacity to show up whole and well in the rest of life’s dimensions.
Examples of concerns:
"I’m exhausted all the time."
"I have panic attacks before meetings."
"My back pain is making everything worse."
"I’m not sleeping well and it's affecting my mood."
"I can’t seem to get my energy back."
4. Family
Your intimate relationships, safety, and familial bonds.
Family is where you are most known — and where the stakes feel highest. This dimension holds family, marriage, parenting, caregiving, and domestic partnerships. It's about love, conflict, obligation, safety, and shared futures. Breakdowns here are often the most painful: disconnection, betrayal, resentment, absence, or loss. The longing for intimacy and the burden of entanglement are both held in this field.
Examples of concerns:
"My partner and I don’t talk anymore."
"I feel like a bad parent."
"I’m caring for a sick parent and it’s overwhelming."
"My family doesn’t support my decisions."
"We fight constantly and I’m losing hope."
5. Belonging
Your place among others — in communities, friendships, and shared identity.
Belonging is the domain of social connection, friendship, trust, and shared identity. It includes the longing to be included, to matter, and to participate meaningfully in something larger. Breakdowns show up as loneliness, exclusion, mistrust, or identity confusion. This domain carries both the joy of friendship and the pain of alienation.
Examples of concerns:
"I don’t have anyone I trust."
"I feel like I don’t fit in at work."
"I miss having close friends."
"Nobody really gets me."
"I feel invisible in every room I walk into."
6. Meaning
Your search for purpose, coherence, and a deeper “why.”
Meaning is the existential dimension. It includes religion, spirituality, philosophy, mortality, and the ultimate questions: Why am I here? What matters? What do I serve? It holds both awe and despair. Breakdowns here may emerge as nihilism, spiritual crisis, or an aching sense of pointlessness. But it is also the soil for profound clarity, calling, and alignment. This is where the story of your life gets rewritten.
Examples of concerns:
"I’ve lost my sense of purpose."
"Nothing I do feels meaningful anymore."
"I’m not sure what I believe in."
"What if I never find my calling?"
"Is any of this really worth it?"
7. World
Your relationship to society, history, and the unfolding future.
World is the outermost ring — your concern for what is happening “out there.” It includes politics, injustice, climate, war, culture, and technology. It’s where you wrestle with your role in collective struggles and futures. You may feel inspired or overwhelmed, outraged or numb. The World domain is not just about opinions — it is about participation, agency, and the pain or possibility of witnessing.
Examples of concerns:
"I feel hopeless about the state of the world."
"I want to contribute to social change but don’t know how."
"What’s the point of building anything if the world is falling apart?"
"I feel overwhelmed by news and global suffering."
"I want to be more involved but don’t know where to start."
