If someone asked you to define the values by which you live and work, would you be able to roll them off pat? Maybe you’ve never actually had to put them on paper or name them, you’ve just known instinctively that you have them.
So, what’s the point of having values? Well, they can help us create the future we want; they give us meaning and a reason to get up in the morning. They can guide us in the decisions we take about how we live our lives; they motivate us and give us direction by helping us to answer questions like:
- What job should I pursue?
- Is the job I’m doing now really fulfilling me?
- Should I start my own holistic business?
- Where is my work-life balance right now?
They can also help us measure if our lives are turning out how we want them to. If we are showing up, life feels generally good and contented because we are aligned with our values. If not, then we can start to feel that something is wrong; perhaps we start to doubt ourselves, our self-esteem drops, we find it difficult to make decisions, our stress levels go up and we feel that we are not living authentically. This may be accompanied by a heaviness or sadness, even anxiety or depression all affecting our mental well-being.
If getting clarity on your values is something you feel you’d like to address, ask yourself what is important to you. What do I care about? What are my goals and what makes me smile? We can have many values for the different areas of our lives – personal, relationships, work, society. But our values need to have substance to be effective.
Don’t expect to get clear on your values in just one day, it may take time. And for this to really work you need to be 100% honest with yourself. When you start looking at the world around you through the lens of your values, this will be the sign that you have identified and really defined them.
Our personal favourites are: Authentic, Caring, Committed, Courageous, Emphathic, Integrity, Loyalty, and Reliable.
If you’d like help with identifying your values, The Spa Sisters can help! Email us at spasisterspodcast@gmail.com take our quiz and see which ones resonate with you. This can help you make plans and decisions that honour your goals.
As we learn and grow, we may face certain life-changing circumstances that lead us to a crossroads. Often our core values can be challenged in ways both good and bad. Values without accountability are just words without integrity. Holding onto values that feel more like old age duties, can also hold us back from our potential. Sometimes what we think is ‘right’ can be very limiting. Be guided by your heart energy, identify what works for you and let go of any feeling of shame and guilt that you may feel by doing the ‘wrong’ thing, when all that might be needed is to tap into a deeper value that feels more true to you.
Main photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
