What Do You Value?

Who are you and what is most important to you? We each have a core set of values that define who we are and what we’re like when we show up at our best. When we are clear about our values, we can honour them in our lives and express them in ways that give us joy and satisfaction.

I have a list of the eight values that meant the most to me. Since I became more conscious about including them in my decisions and in my daily life, I’ve felt more peaceful and alive. It’s a work in progress to become continually more aligned with my values and the effort is always worth it.

Are you interested in defining your values and living your life from them? Here are the steps you can take:

1. Find a list of values. This is easy to do with an internet search. I’ve seen short lists and ones that have up to 247 values, lists of business values, family values, etc. Find a list that works for you. Keep in mind that in your heart, you already know your values – the list is just to tweak your memory.
2. Go through the list using your gut reactions or spiritual guidance to identify a short list of values.
3. Narrow down the list, if necessary, by deciding if you feel comfortable combining closely-related values, for example Integrity and Truth. Also, drop any that just don’t seem as important as the others.
4. Define what each means to you. Your definition may well not appear in a dictionary – it’s totally about your perspective.
5. Next, consider why the value is important to you.
6. Finally, think about how you will express each value and identify some action steps you can take. For example, I can express my value of adventure by experiencing new activities, places and things and actions may be to try a new ethnic restaurant or go sailing.

When we live our lives by expressing our most important values, we feel centred, joyful and on-purpose. Isn’t that worth taking some time to define?