If I asked you what your core values are, how easy would it be to come up with an answer? It’s not something we usually talk about in everyday conversation. Take a few moments to think about what is really important to you. What drives your decisions and the choices you make in life? What motivates you to act in the way that you do?
Which of your values don’t change over time? What are the non-negotiables in your life? Who are you, and who do you want to be? When thinking about your values, it might help to consider what kind of behaviour in others really makes you angry or unhappy. That is a great clue as to what you really do value. I get incredibly upset when people mistreat others. That’s a pretty good indicator that I value qualities such as fairness, acceptance, kindness and encouragement.
Your core values don’t shift over time and help define the sort of person that you are and are part of what makes you so wonderfully unique. Other values do shift as you go through different stages of life and experience different circumstances. What you focus your energies and attention on can change over time as you change and grow as a person. What you want from life can develop along with your own personal development.
Especially when life throws hard stuff at us, we each have to redefine and refine our way of looking at the world and our place in it. Our priorities can change and we have to find valid new ways of working out how we express our values in our altered life. How are changes in your own life affecting what is most important to you? Are you satisfied with how you are living out your values?
Comments
Good questions - looking at things from a different perspective often helps us clarify our thoughts around an issue, especially when we are a bit stuck in trying to work out what we do actually think. Values aren't something we often put into words, so these questions can be a real help.
Here's a couple of "curly" questions around values:
What do you value about yourself? How do you value yourself?
How are you valuable? How are you invaluable?
Cheers
Lynley
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