Values are the gateway to your authentic self. Values form your thoughts, words and actions. They are the ideals and beliefs that you consider most important in life. It is important to note that everyone’s values are different, hence the importance of really understanding your own is essential for calm, confident living and will serve as a great foundation piece in life. Values can keep life simple and feeling in alignment when you base your daily actions around them.
Consciously identifying and living by your values is an essential skill to simplify life, minimise stress and anxiety and open us up to your most confident self.
Defining your values is the first major step to take in unlocking your key to success. Once you have identified them, they will act as your go to point for positive decision making in life. By letting values guide and shape your priorities and reactions you will make better decisions when opportunities arise which will have the flow on effect of leaving you feel more content, happy, confident and satisfied in life. They are the base of your emotional intelligence, they influence your behaviour and serve as a navigator in all situations.
Values are the things that matter most to you. They are the essence of who you are. They help you establish what is most important to you so you have the ability to see if a decision you are making is an opportunity or in fact just a distraction. They are your base of how to show up in life and live life to its fullest, on par with what you are all about. Unfortunately, most people coast through life without any kind of consideration for what is truly important to them. This means unfortunately for many, life is something that ‘just happens’ to them. That feeling of just existing in life, frustrated or simply just not experiencing true happiness.
- Values help you find your purpose
- Values guide your reactions in difficult situations
- Values help you clear the clutter
- Values are a base for decision making
- Values guide you in choosing the right career
- Values help cement your sense of self and increase your confidence
- Values help increase your overall level of happiness and self-esteem
Your values are made up of everything that has happened to you in your life and include influences from your parents and family, your religious affiliation, your friends and peers, your education, your reading, and more. Effective people recognize these environmental influences and identify and develop a clear, concise, and meaningful set of values/beliefs, and priorities. Once defined, values impact every aspect of your life.
Your goals and life purpose need to be grounded in your values for long term success.
When you live out of alignment with your values, or in ‘values conflict’, you may find that you are living without a sense of achievement or feeling a little out of control. By making a deliberate and conscious effort to identify and live according to your key values, you will minimise stress and anxiety in all areas of life.
Knowledge of your own set of values offers you protection from the barrage of external influences and brings a great sense of empowerment. The process of understanding our values invites you to go within and cultivate an inner awareness of what is truly valuable to you. If you strip life back to its bare bones you will see clearly what is fundamentally most important to you. You will discover an unwaivering belief in what you stand for and you can live a happier life doing what is important to you, rather than living someone else’s life.
Identify and consider whether or not you are living in alignment with your own set of values.
Choose the 3 values that are most important to you, the values you believe in and that define your character. Then live them visibly every day at work and at home. Living your values is one of the most powerful tools available to you to help you be the person you want to be, to help you accomplish your goals and dreams, and to help you lead and influence others. Don’t waste your best opportunity.
| Family Happiness | Self-Respect (sense of personal identity, pride) | Generosity (helping others, improving society) |
| Competitiveness (winning, taking risks) | Recognition (status, recognition from others) | Wisdom (discovering and understanding knowledge) |
| Friendship (close relationships with others) | Advancement (promotions) | Spirituality (strong religious or spiritual beliefs) |
| Affection (love, caring etc) | Health | Loyalty |
| Cooperation (working well with others, teamwork) | Responsibility (being accountable for results) | Culture (race or ethnicity identity) |
| Adventure (new challenges) | Fame | Inner Harmony (being at peace with oneself) |
| Achievement (a sense of accomplishment) | Involvement (belonging, being involved with others) | Order (stability, conformity and tranquillity) |
| Wealth (getting rich, making money) | Economic Security | Creativity (being imaginative, innovative) |
| Economic Serenity | Pleasure (fun, laughs, a leisurely lifestyle) | Integrity (honesty, sincerity, standing up for oneself) |
| Freedom (independence and autonomy) | Power (control, authority or influence over others) | Personal Development (use of personal potential) |
identify them – write
them down – act in alignment with them