The Value of Values

One of the first exercises I ask most of my coaching clients to do is to identify their values. And I don’t make it easy, they can only pick their top 3 out of a list of about 200 values. Many squirm and want to pick 10. I get it, it’s hard to commit. It requires inward reflection ‘what is really important to me?’, no easy task for most of us. But then… the reward. Once you have taken the time, sat with it and identified your top values, you get to reap the rewards.

You have identified your values and yes, they are yours and different for all of us. There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ values, rather it’s a deeply personal matter to determine what is good and desirable to you. The values are yours, formed based on personality, culture,  tradition and socialization. And they might very well change over time. For instance, in your 30s ‘ambition’ might be one of your values as you are putting lots of energy towards your career. In your 40s ‘family’ might be front and center, and then in your 50s ‘giving back’ might be bubble up to your top 3.  

The reward comes in form of ease. Your values serve as a compass, your north star, guiding your decisions and priorities as they inform your thoughts, words and actions. If a choice you are about to make, or something you’ve been asked to do, doesn’t align with your values, you have the answer. You don’t have to ponder, think or worry. You know what to do. Now, that’s freedom!