Are Personal Core Values Still Important for Conscious Living?
What are your core values and how do you apply them to your daily living?
Core Values and Conscious Living
What is important to you? Your morning meal? Take time to walk with your dog? Deliver the report on time? What is of value to you?
“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” ? Albert Einstein
What are core values?
Your core values are a witness to your true self because they are what matters most to you when it comes to your personal and professional life.
Your values influence that little voice in your head that tells you whether you should worry about something and whether you should prioritize your time.
Your values are the things you believe are essential in the way you live and work.
Your core values help determine what you really want out of life while simultaneously acting to measure your satisfaction with your current situation and live in a meaningful way.
Core values define who we are and help us find our purpose.
Here are some excellent examples of value keywords: Reliability, Respect, Loyalty, Commitment, Teamwork, Caution, Efficiency, Diversity, Humility.
Some of these values have been instilled in you since childhood. They can be cultural or learned through observation of your family and discussions about your interests. We are educated about our values through our environment
Maybe now, in adulthood, you realize you’re in love with these same things. It is not bad to share core values with those around you, but it can be detrimental to live a life that does not honor those values.
How do core values affect our daily decisions?
If you don’t set a baseline standard for what you’ll accept in life, you’ll find it’s easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that’s far below what you deserve. ~ Tony Robbins
We make decisions based on our core values every day, but sometimes we forget the significant choices we face, big and small, and the potential stress these choices can create.
When you can identify your values and make choices that align with them, life suddenly becomes a little more comfortable.
But when you act on autopilot and do not allow your values to match your choices, you can turn into someone incredibly unhappy and perhaps not consciously knowing why.
Discovering our core values affects both small and great things in our lives. Remember when you bought something you did not really need, but wanted to have? You made the decision that spending money wisely was not valuable to you.
This disconnection results from living a life that does not correlate with its core values. When you begin to make those choices that seem small now but taking into account what is valuable to you, you start to feel less stress in other aspects of your life. And the best part is, you do not need hard work, just some introspection and self-awareness. Knowing your values makes it easy to make important decisions, such as taking a job, starting a business, or making a significant change.
How do we discover our personal values?
Core values are essential to us. By discovering the things that matter most to us, we can lead a better life. Knowing your core values can undoubtedly synchronize with your morale. After all, your standards have a direct impact on your behavior patterns.
You must look within for value but must look beyond for perspective. ~ Denis Waitley
Your own experience will be your best device to realize what is valuable to you.
For example, think of a very joyful time in your life. Why were you so joyful? Was the contentment you felt due to the presence of other people? Who were they? Think about when you were proud of yourself and why you felt that pride. Your own experiences can help you identify what you really consider important. There is no set limit for how many values you can have but allow yourself to list as much as possible.
Look at your values every day
Once you determine what your values are, it is vital to look at them every day. We all face challenging situations and decisions and, as Sam Whittaker says:
“All people are put into difficult situations from time to time … situations where the right thing to do is not obvious. Knowing which principles are most important to you in these situations will help you make better decisions. ”
So, let your values be valuable to you. Everyone is in their own way, and no one can tell you what their core values are beside you.
Do not be afraid to rework your list in the future! You are allowed to consciously change your values.
Your core values are your current compass, but they are not your true self.
Remember: your values should help in creating your best life and your most authentic self. You make the rules. Be patient with yourself and take the time to discover your core values. You will be amazed at the things you can accomplish!
You will also enjoy Are You Making Bad Choices?
References:
The Atlantic: 21 Charts That Explain American Values Today – MindTools: What Are Your Values? – Content Sparks: Big List of Core Value Words – Steve Pavlina: Living Your Values Part 1 – Sam Whittaker: How to Define Your Personal Values[ – Steve Pavlina: Living Your Values Part 1
