know your 2 values
self is the prerequisite to self leadership.
this first step is to learn you. anything you do to know your SELF, to honour or explore or embrace who you are – is going to help you feel empowered in your life, in fact it IS the power in your life… self is the prerequisite.
know that you have a self, you ARE a self. a whole, unbroken, flawed, brilliant self. your inner self, true self, real self, soul self.
this is the YOU that is just for you.
after strengths, the next most important way to connect with your self is to connect with your values.
values are how you want to live – your fundamental ideals or guiding principles – it’s what’s most important to you.
before we explore further, let’s distinguish between strengths and values…
if you’ve found your core strengths, of course those things will also be top values, you value them because you recognise how good they are for you1! this is an opportunity to pick 2 more qualities that are important to you, along with the 3 strengths you’ve already honed in on.
strengths are often present through your lifetime and personal to you. but with values, we can sometimes take on the values of those close to us (eg parents or partners), plus as we go through the events of our life our values can change.
a value may not necessarily be something you are good at! values can be aspirational, they can be something you are trying to practice more in your life.
a strength is something you do or use. a value is how you live.
so what exactly is a value then? i find it can help to think of values as having monetary value, like currency… and certain values are worth more to you than others.
imagine attending any social event, for instance: a dinner, a conference, a meeting, a weekend away with friends. the presence of the things you specifically value adds value to that experience! it’s like those activities or qualities add pennies to your own personal soul bank. if those things you value aren’t really present, no big deal, it’s still a nice event, it just doesn’t really add any value to your soul bank. if you are in a situation where everything goes to shit but what you value is still present, you walk away glad to have that at least… like a minimum deposit. if you are in a situation where you compromise your values, you walk away with a depleted soul bank… you gave away your pennies.
if strengths strengthen you, values empower you… they fill up your soul bank and light you up from the inside. imagine you are a carebear (remember carebears?) - what you value is the symbol on your little bear chest. and when you practice that value or are in the presence of that value, you power up!
a value is not just something that guides how you live (your behaviours and beliefs) but something that powers how you live.
(like adding coinds to your soul bank or like powering up your carebear.)
try exploring:
highlight your top values from the list below. add to this list if you like. use a thesaurus if these aren’t quite the right words for what you value
ask: which of these are reflected in my daily life; which are the ones i most aspire to; which are my own values and which are ones i inherited; if i were building a perfect utopia (community, workplace, classroom whatever) which values would be the corner stones? which are the deal breakers i don’t want to live with out?
see where you can group or ladder multiple values – many have similar names, themes - sort your values into groupings that together comprise or support a primary or core value
narrow down to 2 core values.
try noticing:
when your values are present, absent, compromised. how does it feel?
what are your values in action? what are the activities, behaviours, actions, habits that allow you to practice what you value?
values list:
achievement
activism
adventure
ambition
authenticity
balance
beauty
belonging
calm
challenge
change
collaboration
commitment
communication
community
competence
connection
consistency
contribution
creativity
curiosity
discipline
diversity
education
efficiency
effort
equality
excellence
faith
fame
family
fitness
freedom
friendship
fulfilment
fun
generosity
giving back
grace
gratitude
growth
harmony
health
honesty
hope
humour
independence
individualism
influence
initiative
innovation
integrity
intellect
intuition
joy
justice
kindness
knowledge
leadership
learning
legacy
leisure
love
loyalty
meaning
open-mindedness
optimism
order
patience
peace
perseverance
power
pride
privacy
recognition
respect
responsibility
risk-taking
safety
security
self expression
service
significance
simplicity
spirituality
stability
success
treamwork
tradition
travel
trust
truth
uniqueness
usefulness
vision
vulnerability
wealth
well being
wisdom