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Do You Know Your Personal Values?

Do You Know Your Personal Values

DO YOU KNOW YOUR PERSONAL VALUES?

In my previous life, working in Human Resources, I could rabbit on for hours about the importance of ‘values’ and ‘values alignment’ in driving an organisation towards success.

It was a form of corporate jargon – or wankery – that HR peeps are famous for.

And I was one of those peeps.

But here’s the thing – despite its wank-factor in corporate-speak, values are important. Especially, personal values.

“Technically, values are desired qualities of ongoing action. Poetically, they’re our heart’s deepest desires for how we want to spend our brief time on this planet. Metaphorically, they’re like a compass: they give us direction and keep us on track.” – Russ Harris

And, how your values align with your life decisions will affect how you feel about your life in general. And, how connected you are. Whether you consider your life meaningful.

Having said that – it’s important that we don’t confuse a value with a goal.

A value is a principle or standard of behaviour; a judgment of what is important in life to you

 A goal is an object of your ambition or effort; an aim or a desired result

Values come before goals. They are what inspires and motivates us to work towards our goals.

And, they are different again from ‘needs’ which are just very important goals.

If you’re having difficulty differentiating between values and goals, here are a few pointers (i):

  • Values are here and now, goals are in the future
  • Values never need to be justified. They just are.
  • Values often need to be prioritized
  • Values are best held lightly
  • Values are freely chosen

The very best thing about understanding your personal values is that they provide you with your very own road map with which to navigate your way through life

In today’s world full of increased ‘comparisonitis’ (technical term!), many of us suffer from a misguided compulsion to compare our accomplishments to someone else’s. Having a clear understanding of our own values makes this disappear. That easily.

When you understand what really matters to you, life decisions can be made by asking yourself one simple question:

How does this stack up against my values?

If the answer is that it is aligned with your values, then it’s an easy question to answer. If not, then you’ve got some further thinking to do. Either way, it has little to do with anyone else.

JFC Map Reference

The clincher, for me; the bit that makes all the difference; the ‘Oprah A-ha moment’, is this –

 You must be present with your values

It’s not enough to understand your values. It’s not even enough to be able to articulate them to yourself (or someone else). Nope.

When we connect with the present moment, we are mindful of the here and now. We are fully engaged with what is going on around us and we are not lost in our inner thoughts.

Aligning with your values is all about being present and paying attention to what you’re doing. Right now.

That’s a work in progress for me.

So, I’m starting by really connecting with my values. I’ve narrowed them down to seven. Which was actually quite difficult.

And, these are they…

Authenticity:
to be authentic, genuine and real; to be true to me
Trust:
to be trustworthy; loyal, faithful, sincere, and reliable; and/or be trusting of others
Curiosity:
to be curious, open-minded and interested; eager to explore, discover and learn
Friendliness:
to be warm, friendly, open, accepting, agreeable and helpful towards others
Kindness:
to be kind, considerate, nurturing or caring towards others (and myself) or the world around me
Contribution:
to contribute, give, help, assist, share or be generous
Responsibility:
to act responsibly, and be accountable for what I do
Do you know your PERSONAL values?

If you’d like some help in understanding just what values really resonate for you, download my FREE Personal Values Workbook.

I share:

  • How your values differ from your goals
  • Why values come before goals
  • The importance of both values and goals
  • Why aligning your values with your life decisions will affect how you feel about your life in general. And, how connected you are. Whether you consider your life meaningful.
  • A simple bull’s eye technique to get you well on your way in identifying your personal values and where you might need to pay closer attention

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Comments (8)

I enjoyed reading this so much, we have gone on similar journeys it seems. I am also a bit of a fan of Russ Harris too just quietly… Thank you for sharing your values so openly. Sacha

Hey Sacha – How are you, Possum?

Thanks for taking the time yo leave a comment. Especially about this topic 🙂

Brilliant! Aligning with your values as a mindfulness practice. I love that Joanna~.

…now, I just gotta’ make it happen!

Loved this. Love this. Loved it. I really did. Values are huge. Thanks for the reminder Joanna Possum

Bless your cotton socks! 🙂

Mwah!

What is important is being present with your values, knowing them and using them as the road map in your life.

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