It is important to recognise, clarify and understand your core values. Values can easily be overlooked. They can be elusive, because much of the time they operate ‘in the background’, out of conscious awareness. Once values have been revealed, they can be used to guide actions and behaviours. Do you know your Work and Personal Values? Do you know that your core values always been with you? Do you know that understanding your values helps you live authentic and happy lives much easier? If not, it's time to take steps and to learn more!
Tony Robbins describes values as ‘belief systems about what’s right and wrong, good and bad’, which is why they’re so powerful and important. Values say a lot about who you are, they are a part of your identity. Your personal values are those qualities and attributes that are most important and meaningful to you. They say what is important to you in the way you work and live your life.
Your values are the criteria against which you make decisions. Your values will govern everything you do, and are a very useful guideline for measuring your behaviour and choices. In another words, values shape our map of the world. Your beliefs support and reinforce your values.
Make a list of important values, by answering the following questions: What is important to you in your life? What is important to you in your job? In your business? What are you passionate about? What do you really believe in? Examples of values: friendships, growth, freedom, honesty, recognition, purity, status, responsibility, reward, stability, wisdom, patience, awareness, self-respect, learning, health. When you know your own values, it will:
? Give you direction during times of conflict, challenges, confusing directions, and when your dream is unclear.
? Make it easier to choose what/who is right for you, i.e. job, relationship, business, partner, etc.
? Help you make decisions that honour what's worthwhile to you.
? Keep you on the path that's right for you.
? Give you a sense of meaning and of purpose.
Everybody is entitled to their own values as you are entitled to yours. Your success in life can be attributed to your level of self-awareness and understanding your values. Your life is happier and more fulfilling when you consciously live out your values, act on them and honour them.
The personal and professional relationships you have, the work you do, the company you work for, the customers or clients you serve - all must somehow align with your personal core values. When you are not living according to your values, or when your values are threatened, you will be in conflict within yourself and at all levels of interactions.
You will also have difficulties with problem solving either at home or at work. For example: one of your core values is family, and you accepted a good job with many days of an international travelling. If you ignore your family and focus only on your job/finances, in the long run, you will suffer. Or, one of your values is honesty, and you decided to lie about serious mistake at work.
It’s highly likely that you will be not coping with the lie well, and would be not able to handle the conflict. If you are not honouring your personal core values in your work and your life, what's stopping you? Let’s put things right, as it’s very important.
You have an opportunity to consciously choose the values you wish to live by and to create a career or life that builds on those values. Once you've identified your top 3-5 values from the list, think about several ways you can express each of those values in your work or in your life. What can you do? Create an action plan. Be specific about what actions you'll take.
One of my clients, despite of her busy work schedule, decided to make a daily 10-15 minutes phone call to the member of her family abroad. Immediately she felt happy and fulfilled, as she started honouring her core personal value: family connections. Imagine how your life and your work would look if you decided to honour just one of your values? What if you decide to honour them all? Also, when you need to make a decision, ask yourself first if your personal core values will be honoured?
To change your life you need to take action! It's not about where you're come from; it's where you're going and how are you going to get there. Your goals, plans and strategy must be alighted with your values. This means that you must set goals that are consistent with what you believe to be good, right and important. Your goals must truly resonate with you.
If you set your goals with the wrong value, it will be like working at a job you hate. You will feel drained of energy, demotivated and unhappy. The goal should be aligned to your personal values to help you to stay motivated.
In another words, your work and life will be most fulfilling and satisfying when it is an expression of your core values. Setting your goals, which are congruent with your values, is not easy, but is extremely rewarding.
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