Values are the things that are important to us and can be considered as ‘guiding principles’ for our lives in terms of what we prioritize on a day to day basis.
When many of us are asked to list our values, they are often times the values we believe we “should” have for ourselves – and when asked how often we truly live those values on a day to day basis, many of us realize we don’t, and that is what leaves us feeling ‘incongruent’ and ‘out of sorts’ as we are not being ‘true’.
Values are contextual (ie they differ with regard to different aspects of our lives) and the good news is what we can choose to change and re-prioritize them to best serve us. For example, if someone has both “Security” and “Love” on their values list, can you imagine a difference in life choices and experience for someone who values Security above Love versus someone who values Love above Security?
There is also a possibility of a values-conflict – and so it is important to really consider the implications of your different values with respect to one another.
Check for yourself:
- Take a few minutes and consider your (current) values in the different areas of your life? Write them down (in separate lists or as one whole list)
- Prioritize them in order of most important to least important to you. (or at least your top 5-10 if you have listed many)
- Take note of how much you are living these top values on a day to day basis (currently in your life).
In a follow-up post, I will share with you ways in which you can shift these.