Values

If you looked at the title of this blog, and thought, “I don’t want to have anymore wishy-washy conversations about ‘What’s important to me,’” then keep reading—because we’re tired of those conversations too. When you think about your “values” off the top of your head, do any of these come to mind: Honesty, Integrity, Teamwork, Community, Hard Work, Family, Love, Friendship? These are common North American values that we have been brought up to believe are important—we’ve been taught to accept these values as our own, and they are. But they are not necessarily your active, lived values. And it’s your lived values that need to be uncovered for meaningful planning. Lived values are ones that you actively demonstrate in your daily life. The thing to keep in mind here is that a value isn’t just a “sound and virtuous behaviour,” as the common definition may lead us to believe; values also act as decision-making tools. And they tend to do so, invisibly. Understanding that fact is what will help to lead you towards discovering your lived values.

You can pin point lived values by reflecting on the things that tend to make you either very upset, or very happy. Like we’ve written before, lived values can be discovered through analyzing your experiences. Experiences, and the emotions you felt during those experiences, will lead you to your lived values. Our real and lived values don’t have to be nice, tidy, socially acceptable answers. They can’t always be fit into succinct words like “Integrity, Faith or Love.”Take the time to think about what has really upset you in your life, or really thrilled you. You’ll find your values nearby.