How to find your core values : Part 1

Do you know your own personal, core values? We all have values, deep down in us, however sometimes we may not be aware of these values.

Some times we may take steps based on our perceived values and we feel unhappy or feel something is not right, that is because we may not have followed a value inside us. Many of us, live whole life not ever being aware of these values, but can you imagine if you lived the life based on what you felt inside as a human being? Would not that be wonderful? Would you like to find out and try it?

Finding value is not quick thing, it may require some deep soul searching time. Your values are like your mission statement, your beliefs. Values could be based on your past experience, and influences from your life such as parents, friends, peers, what you read, what you see, and hear can make up who you are, but it is much more than that; It is a foundation of who you are deep inside.

Values are pretty much constant throughout your life. Your priorities may change with time, but values will usually remain the same.

If you do not know who you are, what makes you happy or what is important to you, then how you can be the person you want to be, live the life you want to live? Need more reasons? Why you should bother to find your true values? Here are some to convince you, if you have not already;

1. So, you can make a best decision and know what is best for you in long run.
2. Find right work/career situation for you, right friends, right places to live best way you can.
3. You will not be distracted by fake success which is not tied to your values.
4. You will be clear on your goals and will be focus on what actions to take.
5. You will have less stress and live with integrity.

How do you find your values?

Step1 : Here are some common personal values, please look through it and think it through it.
Step2: Pick 10 values that best describes you.
Step3: Eliminate 5, keeping only top 5 values. No more, no less.

Here are some of the popular values to help you get started on the process:

Accomplishment, Success
Accountability
Accuracy
Adventure
Beauty
Calm, peace
Challenge
Change
Cleanliness, orderliness
Collaboration
Commitment
Communication
Community
Competence
Concern for others
Connection
Content
Continuous improvement
Cooperation
Coordination
Creativity
Customer satisfaction
Decisiveness
Delight of being, joy
Democracy
Discipline
Discovery
Diversity
Efficiency
Equality
Excellence
Fairness
Faith
Faithfulness
Family
Freedom
Friendship
Fun
Global view
Good will
Gratitude
Hard work
Harmony
Honesty
Honor
Improvement
Independence
Individuality
Inner peace
Innovation
Integrity
Intensity
Justice
Knowledge
Leadership
Love, Romance
Loyalty
Merit
Money
Openness
Patriotism
Peace, Non-violence
Perfection
Personal Growth
Pleasure
Power
Practicality
Preservation
Privacy
Progress
Prosperity, Wealth
Punctuality
Quality of work
Regularity
Reliability
Resourcefulness
Respect for others
Responsiveness
Results-oriented
Safety
Satisfying others
Security
Self-givingness
Self-reliance
Service (to others, society)
Simplicity
Skill
Solving Problems
Speed
Spirit in life (using)
Stability
Standardization
Status
Strength
Succeed; A will to-
Success, Achievement
Systemization
Teamwork
Timeliness
Tolerance
Tradition
Tranquility
Trust
Truth
Unity
Variety
Wisdom

There are lot of choices here, you will find more on internet. I wanted to give everyone many choice but not to confuse you at the same time. Hopefully, this list was useful.

If you still feel confused, ask your self these 2 questions, which may help finding your true values.

1. What events and.or decisions you took in past, makes you feel good about it? Why it felt good? Would you do it again, even it did not gain you anything?
2. What event and/or decisions you took in past, makes you feel bad about it? Why did it felt bad, was it a success? Would you do it again, even when it gained you something?

Above are important questions, as sometimes, some rich and powerful people are not happy, despite earning millions, because what they are doing it is not lined up with their own core values. Would you rather be sad millionaire or happy poor person? Fret not, there is a way to achieve both happiness and money, if work based on your values.

Check out this Moral Story which also will reinforce values in our life.

Next article: Finding Values part 2 of finding core values, we will look further in to using our values, once we know what they are; Stay tuned for it.

Zengirl

Image Source: Workforce Interactive Site