My Values Evaluation

posted 8th June 2011    Written by: Laura    CATEGORY: Inspiration, Laura, Season 4

As part of working my way through Molly’s Joy Equation, I spent some time thinking about my values. This seriously challenged my assumptions and got me thinking.

I’m pretty reflective and try to be in tune with my desires and instincts. In fact, I’ve been trying to do this more and more for the past 18 months. But when faced with having to choose no more than eight values from an infinite number of possibilities, I really had to pause.

I thought I knew what my values were. But then I realized, I can value the presence of pretty much anything – people, experiences, emotions, objects – but My Values should be like beacons of light guiding me and informing my choices.

They are a critical part of who I am as a person. And when I was forced to really think about it, it was a really refreshing and revealing activity. All a sudden, thinking of something as one of My Values gave it a lot more weight and importance.

It’s like, there’s a difference between your heart appreciating something and your soul needing it, you know?

I’m happy to share with you where I landed, for no other reason than I hope it gets your wheels turning about your own values, and brings them to the forefront of your mind today.

1.) Courage – This was a bit of a shocker, I’m not gonna lie. All of my time spent being assertive, bold and decisive now makes So.Much.More.Sense! What’s even more exciting is the realization that, to me, courage encompasses a lot of things. It’s about taking risks, absolutely, but it’s also about having an open mind, inner strength and trust in myself and the universe. It’s about being compassionate and empathetic. And mostly, it’s about having a willingness. It’s about not being motivated by fear. Seriously, now that I’ve pinpointed it, I really can’t imagine living in the absence of courage.

2.) Creativity – I don’t necessarily need to be an artist in order to honour creativity. I just need to write, ideate, brainstorm, and make stuff – from crafts to cookies. I need to have fun with colour. Whether by wearing a bright scarf or writing a business plan in markers. Colour feeds my soul. Honouring creativity also means pushing boundaries, keeping perspective, and listening to my intuition. Those are important ways of nurturing creativity from the inside out.

3.) Exploration – Ahhh, yes! This is all about my inquisitive, curious little mind! It’s about my thirst for new experiences and challenges, and for learning, trying, and doing. It’s why I love reading, and movies, and travelling. It’s why I love action and it’s why I get impatient. Not because I’m anxious to produce and accomplish. I’m just hungry to dig, see, listen, and EXPLORE.

4.) Family – This one is on many of your lists, I’m sure. What was important for me to realize is that family, as a Value, isn’t just about the people and pets in it. It’s about intimacy, compromise, consideration, loyalty, connection, and commitment. It’s the feelings and comfort that being part of a family brings. Those are the things I need to respect and create space and time for.

5.) Laughter - A bit of a no brainer, for me, anyway. All of the things that lead me to laughter, like playfulness, interactions with others, adventure and a relentlessly positive outlook, are things I simply wouldn’t want to live without. When I stop having any fun, I’m doing something way, way wrong.

6.) Originality – From the time I was a little girl, I’ve loved doing things my way. I was blow drying my own hair before I was even out of a crib…seriously. Maybe that was because I was stubborn and a bit controlling, even then. But I’d like to think it was also because I love expressing myself, and feeling confident and self assured. Now, as an adult, I adore dreaming, doing things differently, and working on ways to be more me. Losing my sense of originality would be a fast track to misery.

7.) Freedom – This is a funny value to have when I live in a completely free country, with a completely supportive network of family and friends. What about my life isn’t free? That’s why I left it out at first. But words like freedom and flexibility were calling to me from the page. And then I realized, part of the reason I’m so, so grateful for where I live and who I live here with is that I absolutely adore being free to make choices and seek out variety. I love the growth, possibility and independence that a sense of freedom affords me. And so, it made the cut.

8.) Vitality – My obsession with exercise, nutrition and health? And my intense disappointment when I’m not incorporating those things into my day to day (like recently)? Yeeeaaah, it totally comes back to the fact that I really, truly value vitality. And I can’t even tell you how much I love “vitality” as the word of choice. I get to wrap the concepts of energy, physical fitness, conscious eating, clarity of mind, inspiration, solitude, rest, peace, balance, and presence in the moment into one beautiful package! Vitality! Hell yes! Put a bow on that one!

Values are subject to change, as life evolves and priorities shift, I know. But I’m feeling so good about  having gone through this process, and really enlightened by it. If you haven’t spent time doing this type of exercise in a while – or ever! – I highly recommend it.

And of course, I’d love to hear what some of your values are in the comments below!


Bookmark and Share
Comments (3)

3 Responses to “My Values Evaluation”

Leave a Reply

name*


email* (will not be published)


website


comments