What do you live for? Wealth? Power? Connection? Relationships? Truth? Reason? Love? Faith? Career? Family? God? Happiness? Fulfillment? Peace? Comfort? Contentment? Integrity? Here’s an exercise to help you get clear on your values.
Take a look at the list of values below and mark the values that resonate with you. As you scan the values list below, you may find that many of the values have little or no significance to you, some may seem negative, and some may call to you.
If you read the value and you feel strongly that it is part of who you are and what’s important to you, chances are pretty good it’s one of your core values.
This values list is merely a guide and it is certainly not exhaustive. Feel free to add unlisted values that resonate with you.
| AbundanceAcceptanceAccessibilityAccomplishmentAccuracyAchievementAcknowledgementActiveness
Adaptability Adoration Adventure Affection Affluence Aggressiveness Agility Alertness Altruism Ambition Amusement Anticipation Appreciation Approachability Articulacy Assertiveness Assurance Attentiveness Attractiveness Audacity Availability Awareness Awe Balance Beauty Being the best Belonging Benevolence Bliss Boldness Bravery Brilliance Calmness Camaraderie Candor Capability Care Carefulness Celebrity Certainty Challenge Charity Charm Chastity Cheerfulness Clarity Cleanliness Clear-mindedness Cleverness Closeness Comfort Commitment Compassion Completion Composure Concentration Confidence Conformity Congruency Connection Consciousness Consistency Contentment Continuity Contribution Control Conviction Conviviality Coolness Cooperation Correctness Courage Courtesy Craftiness Creativity Credibility Cunning Curiosity Daring Decisiveness Delight Dependability Depth Desire Determination Devotion Dignity Diligence Direction Directness Discipline Discovery Discretion Diversity Dreaming Drive Duty Eagerness Economy Education Effectiveness Efficiency Elation Elegance Empathy |
EncouragementEnduranceEnergyEnjoymentEntertainmentEnthusiasmExcellenceExcitement
Exhilaration Experience Expertise Exploration Expressiveness Extravagance Extroversion Exuberance Fairness Faith Fame Family Fascination Fashion Fearlessness Ferocity Fidelity Fierceness Financial independence Fitness Flexibility Flow Fluency Focus Fortitude Frankness Freedom Friendliness Frugality Fun Generosity Giving Grace Gratitude Gregariousness Growth Guidance Happiness Harmony Health Heart Helpfulness Heroism Holiness Honesty Honor Hopefulness Hospitality Humility Humor Hygiene Imagination Impact Independence Ingenuity Inquisitiveness Insightfulness Inspiration Integrity Intelligence Intensity Intimacy Introversion Intuition Intuitiveness Inventiveness Joy Justice Keenness Kindness Knowledge Leadership Learning Liberation Liberty Liveliness Logic Longevity Love Loyalty Making a difference Mastery Maturity Meekness Mellowness Meticulousness Mindfulness Modesty Motivation Mysteriousness Neatness Nerve Obedience Open-mindedness Openness Optimism Order Organization Originality Outrageousness Peace Perceptiveness Perfection Perseverance Persistence |
PersuasivenessPassionPhilanthropyPlayfulnessPleasantnessPleasurePoisePopularity
Potency Power Practicality Pragmatism Precision Preparedness Presence Privacy Proactivity Professionalism Prosperity Prudence Punctuality Purity Realism Reason Reasonableness Recognition Recreation Refinement Reflection Relaxation Reliability Religiousness Resilience Resolution Resolve Resourcefulness Respect Rest Restraint Richness Rigor Sacredness Sacrifice Saintliness Satisfaction Security Self-control Selflessness Self-reliance Sensitivity Sensuality Serenity Service Sexuality Sharing Shrewdness Significance Silence Silliness Simplicity Sincerity Skillfulness Solidarity Solitude Speed Spirituality Spontaneity Spunk Stability Stillness Strength Structure Success Support Surprise Sympathy Synergy Teamwork Thankfulness Thoroughness Thoughtfulness Thrift Tidiness Timeliness Traditionalism Tranquility Transcendence Trust Trustworthiness Truth Understanding Uniqueness Unity Usefulness Valor Variety Victory Vigor Virtue Vision Vitality Vivacity Warmth Watchfulness Wealth Willfulness Willingness Winning Wisdom Wittiness Wonder Youthfulness Zeal |
My Ten Values (write them down as you discover them)
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My Ten Values in Order (sort them, with your priority value being number one)
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You might be wondering why it’s important to actively decide what your values are.
Your values are the foundation of what your purpose is built on. If you don’t uncover your values it’s difficult to find your purpose. If you don’t uncover your values you end up with the default set of values (what other people want, parent’s expectations, dominant cultural values), which means other people are choosing what you live for. Unfortunately, this can lead to feeling confused, depressed, unfulfilled, and whole host of other uncomfortable emotions that cause suffering.
Look at your list above, what five values do you want guiding your daily life?
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Ask yourself these questions:
- If you were living by these values everyday would you be living your best possible life?
- Would you be living your life on purpose?
If you answered yes to these questions, then you’ve found your core values and the foundation to your purpose. If you answered no, go back through and reflect on which values would allow you to answer yes.
For me, the value that allows me to answer yes is love. I am constantly working on my own personal ability to live my life from a place of love and helping others to do the same. This is my way of assessing whether I am living my best possible life and whether I’ve living on purpose.
Your list of values is your safety net. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or confused about how to live your life, you can fall back on your values. Whenever you encounter a situation that your unsure how to handle, ask yourself, “if I react this way, am I living in alignment with my values?” If the answer is no, I humbly suggest that you find another reaction. By continuing to question yourself according to your values you will find that soon, very soon indeed, you will be living your life’s purpose in every moment of everyday.
I love hearing from you, post a comment below and let me know what your core values are!
Lots of love,
