Living your life around your highest values can allow you to be fulfilled and focused, giving you the tools to choose easily what is important to you, based on those guiding values.
What are Values?
We all have values; they are the sum of your preferences and priorities, that you hold important in your life. Values are intangible, and sometimes be challenging to pinpoint, however, by taking a little time and allowing yourself some space, you will soon find the significant ones in your life.
It is important to understand that the values you hold significant are just that, they are yours, no-one else’s so totally unique to you.
Examples of common values are: family, security, relaxation, health, humour, and independence, achievement, money, honesty.
Conflict can occur when you live your life without honouring your most significant values.
For example if you identify ‘family’ as one of your highest values, yet your relationships with siblings or parents are strained and difficult, it can lead to dissatisfaction, stress and unhappiness.
Similarly if you are stuck in the cycle of overeating and not exercising and yet health is a significant value for you, you will be out of balance; this imbalance will show up as stress and unhappiness.
Living a life aligned with your own set of values takes the difficulty out of choosing where to prioritise your time, it gives you a map to work with so making the choices easy.
Action Steps to define your values
Find a quiet spot and some free time
Think about the some of the values mentioned below, or add your own,
Sort out your top 4
Identify the gap between your reality and those significant values
Write down what steps you need to take to align your values with your reality
Take action today.
Below I have listed a number of common values. Use these to get started.
Family, security, excellence, creativity, beauty, to relate, to be heard, spirituality, adventure, fun, to inspire, to feel good, to nurture, to teach, to win, to be part of community, to contribute.
Julie Rowlands is a Associate Certified Coach with International Coach Federation, and certified NLP Practitioner. Julie’s background in the primary health-care area has given her a unique perspective which she uses in her work to inspire, encourage and challenge her clients to reach for their goals.Visit http://www.fastforwardcoach.com to sign up for a FREE newsletter!
Article Source: Live Your Values, Define Your Life
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Excellent article Julie.
Quite often peoples values aren’t in line with their actions. They often want things but certain bad habits keep them from attaining those very things they desire. Perhaps within themselves or from outside forces.
Sometimes it’s difficult to change and break bad habits. But as we are all aware… in order to be something we’ve never been, we have to do things we’ve never done.