What matters most to you?
When you are clear on your top values you have a compass for making decisions about choices that come up in life, including your life purpose. While you’re certainly aware of some of your values, you’ll be surprised at what else is cooking inside.
Understanding more about who you really are as a person and what’s important to you will open new doors of discovery and give you tremendous insight into what your future holds.
Values stem from our beliefs and convictions, which then guide and direct our behaviors.
They are the essence of who each of us are, the foundation of our unique self-expression. Values help us to act with integrity, and when our life priorities are aligned with our values, we are well on our way to experiencing fulfillment in our lives.
Understanding more about who you really are as a person and what’s important to you will open new doors of discovery.
So get out your pen and paper and find a quiet spot to answer the seven questions that follow, to get you started on defining what matters most to you!
On the top of your page, write the title, “What Matters Most”. Then, down the left side, list the questions below, leaving a few lines between each one for notes. Answer the questions as quickly as you can. Quickly answering the questions eliminates your filters and allows you to tap into your true thoughts. Give yourself permission to simply let the answers flow. You can always go back to add or refine them later.
- I am passionate about……
- I am happiest when…….
- I am most proud that……
- I hope one day……
- I admire _____ because….. (This could be a famous person, a character in a book or someone you know)
- When do I feel most authentic? (This is a clue that you’re in alignment with your values)
- What inspires me to take action?
Now take a couple of minutes and look over your answers.
For the next step, get a new sheet of paper and write “My Values” across the top
Write your top 3-5 values from the previous page, and leave some space between.You may also want to take a look at the list of values at the end of the article to spark some ideas of what your values are.
Next, reflecting on your list of your 3-5 top values, write a brief description of what each value means to you.
Reflect upon how these values show up, or not, in your everyday life. Spend some time with your written list of values and think about how much they mean to you. If you decide to change one or two after contemplating them, that’s fine. More things may come up for you.
Congratulations! In just a few minutes you have done something life altering – you have identified your core values. You have identified what matters most to you in life. This is your personal guidance system. It’s something you use every day to make decisions that direct your life.
If you’d like more help bridging the gap from where you are to where you want to be, be sure to sign up for a free Life Purpose Strategy Session with me!
List of possible values: (You can also find more comprehensive lists of values online)
- Authenticity
- Achievement
- Adventure
- Authority
- Autonomy
- Balance
- Beauty
- Boldness
- Compassion
- Challenge
- Citizenship
- Community
- Competency
- Contribution
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Determination
- Fairness
- Faith
- Fame
- Friendships
- Fun
- Growth
- Happiness
- Honesty
- Humor
- Influence
- Inner Harmony
- Justice
- Kindness
- Knowledge
- Leadership
- Learning
- Love
- Loyalty
- Meaningful Work
- Openness
- Optimism
- Peace
