I’ve had people ask, “What are my values? And why would I need to know them?”
If you want your life to be fulfilling and less stressful, then you want to be doing what resonates with you as a person. When you understand what your core values are, you can make choices that are in alignment with what’s important to you. The end result is you have more ease in your life.
If you don’t know what your values are, you’re liable to find yourself heading in the wrong direction and struggling to find happiness. You’ll feel at odds with your life or career choice if your values don’t line up with what you’re doing. If you don’t know what your core values are, you’ll be making decisions in your life that aren’t necessarily in your best interest.
What Exactly Are Values?
There are different types of values.
Core values, as defined by Your Dictionary are fundamental beliefs of a person or organization.
Personal values, according to Wikipedia, are ” relative in that they differ between people, and on a larger scale, between people of different cultures.” There are also absolute values which are independent of individual or cultural views.
The values we’re talking about here are personal core values – what’s important to you? What are the things you can’t live without?
The importance of understanding and identifying your own values, is that it helps you structure your life in a way that’s better suited to who you are. It helps define whether or not a certain career or even a relationship is a match for you.
If you understand your values, it’s much easier to make decisions about something when it presents itself to you.
If family is important to you and you’re offered a job all the way across the country or overseas, this goes against one of your core values. But if freedom, adventure, or financial stability are also important, then, depending on the job, you might consider it. If the job were only a 2 year stint with great pay and the chance to travel, it might be a fit.
When you determine which of these values are more important than the others, you can make the best decision. You might be more willing to do something short term, if it matches some of your values, but not all of them.
“What Are My Values And How Do I Define Them?”
Now that you understand how values can impact your life, you’re probably wondering how to define them. To start with, what’s important to you? What are things you just can’t live without? Is it important for you to make a difference in the world? Do you value growth and learning? Start to define what makes you happy as well as what bothers you.
When you know what you don’t like, it usually tells you what you do like. For example, if it bothers you when someone treats a waiter unfairly, then you’d know that either “fairness” or “kindness” are things you value.
You can begin to make a list of what you consider your values. Don’t worry about placing them in any particular order. Once you have the list, then you can go back and determine which ones are at the top of your list.
By doing this, you’ll then have a blueprint of what’s important to you. When faced with a decision, you’ll have a better understanding with what lines up with your true needs and beliefs.
List Of Values
The following is a list of some values. While this is only a small list of values, these are examples to get you started thinking about what’s important to you.
- Abundance
- Acceptance
- Balance
- Beauty
- Cooperation
- Courage
- Freedom
- Growth
- Happiness
- Helping others
- Love
- Loyalty
- Responsibility
- Security
- Trust
Spend some time defining your values and you’ll find decision making much easier than before.
