Stop and listen to what really matters to you
We all have things that are deeply important to us, whether we realise it or not.
Your core values are the guiding principles that shape your life and decisions. However, with the busyness of daily life, it can be easy to lose touch with what really matters.
I’m going to share three impactful exercises to help you stop, listen within, and uncover your true north—your core values.
Contents
∘ What Are Core Values?
∘ Why Discover Your Core Values?
∘ 📖Exercise 1: Look Back to See Forward
∘ 📖Exercise 2: Follow Your Feelings
∘ 📖Exercise 3: Build Your Ideal Day
∘ 🔎 Putting Your Values Into Action
∘ Summing Up
Core values are the fundamental beliefs that drive your behaviour and define who you are.
They represent what is genuinely meaningful and valuable to you on the deepest level.
Examples of common core values include things like family, health, integrity, community, learning, spirituality, adventure, and making a positive difference.
Your core values stem from your identity, purpose, and what gives your life significance. They motivate you and are the filters through which you view opportunities and make choices.
Understanding your core values lets you live in greater alignment with who you truly are.
Why Discover Your Core Values?
Knowing your core values has numerous benefits.
- It provides clarity and direction when making major life decisions. Your values will guide you towards the right paths.
- It improves self-awareness and self-esteem. Understanding your values helps you better understand yourself.
- It strengthens relationships. Sharing your values with loved ones fosters intimacy and understanding.
- It boosts motivation and life satisfaction. Working and living according to your values is energising and fulfilling.
- It enhances communication. Expressing your values makes your priorities and needs clear to others.
Let’s dive into three impactful exercises for uncovering your authentic core values.
📖Exercise 1: Look Back to See Forward
One powerful way to gain insight into your core values is to reflect on formative life experiences from your past. Memories hold wisdom that can guide us if we take the time to analyse them.
- Spend some quiet time recalling memorable moments, people, or periods from your life history. Focus on instances where you felt truly happy, sad, proud, or angry. Reflect on what exactly about those experiences evoked such strong feelings.
- Make notes on any recurring themes you notice. For example, did you often feel happiest when spending quality time with family? Did acts of courage or helping others cause you to feel proud? Your notes may reveal values like family, integrity, or compassion that have consistently mattered to you.
- Consider how your values from the past still influence you today. The things that were important to your younger self often remain so, even if expressed differently now. Recognising this can offer guidance for current life chapters.
This exercise in introspective reflection is an impactful way to gain clarity on your authentic core values from the wisdom of personal history.
📖Exercise 2: Follow Your Feelings
Our emotions provide valuable clues about our core values. Paying attention to how you feel in different situations can illuminate what is genuinely important and meaningful to you.
- Make a note each time you experience a strong positive or negative feeling for a week. Jot down the situation that triggered the emotion along with noticing the feeling itself—was it joy, frustration, fulfilment, etc.?
- Analyse your notes for patterns. Did achieving a goal at work make you feel proud? Did missing family events cause regret? Your emotional responses often correlate to your deeper values.
- Consider why certain situations make you feel the way they do. For example, you may feel joy when helping others because of the value you place on compassion. Pinpointing the root reasons behind your emotions can uncover your guiding principles.
- Check if your feelings align with how you currently spend your time and energy. Are you investing in the areas of your life that your emotions show are most important? If not, your values may be calling you to make adjustments.
Paying attention to your feelings is a direct way to tune into your authentic self and gain clarity on your core values.
📖Exercise 3: Build Your Ideal Day
Imagine having a magic wand and being able to design the perfect day for yourself. This visualisation exercise is profoundly insightful for uncovering your core values.
- Close your eyes and picture your ideal day from start to finish. See yourself waking up and going through each hour. What are you doing? Who are you with? Where are you?
- Note the activities, people, places, and feelings that repeatedly come to mind. Do themes of nature, learning, family, spirituality, or service continually appear? These likely represent important values for you.
- Ask yourself why certain elements feel ideal. For example, you may envision spending time with loved ones because of the high value you place on relationships and connection.
- Compare your ideal day to your current routine. Are you regularly participating in the activities and with the people that your vision highlighted as most meaningful? If not, your ideal day could signal where you most want to focus your time and energy going forward according to your core values.
This values-focused visualisation exercise provides profound insights by allowing your authentic desires and dreams to surface freely.
🔎 Putting Your Values Into Action
Uncovering your core values through self-reflection is enlightening. But the real value is in applying this self-knowledge to your daily choices and priorities. Here are a few suggestions:
- Create a values statement. Summarise your top 3–5 core values in a short paragraph. Refer to it for guidance.
- Set value-aligned goals. Craft objectives that allow you to express your guiding principles in a tangible way.
- Have values-focused conversations. Discuss your values with loved ones so you can better understand each other.
- Evaluate commitments. Re-examine responsibilities and see if any do not align with who you aim to become.
- Practice daily values checks. Periodically reflect on whether your current activities match your principles. Course-correct as needed.
- Volunteer in a meaningful way. Contribute your time and skills to a cause that resonates with your values.
The key is continuing the self-discovery journey and allowing your core values to inform your decisions moment by moment. Living by your true north will lead to greater well-being, purpose, and fulfilment.
Summing Up
Discovering your core values is a profoundly meaningful process that provides clarity and direction for your life.
By taking the time for introspection and using exercises like reviewing your past, following your feelings, and envisioning your ideal day, you can gain profound insights into your authentic self.
Understanding your guiding principles then lets you set values-aligned goals and make choices that lead to greater well-being, stronger relationships, and a deeper sense of purpose.
Your core values are your compass; tune in to find the true north and follow it every day.
#Self-Improvement #Psychology #Personal Growth #Life Lessons #Happiness
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