Exploring Your Values
The first exercise is called “exploring your values”. The purpose here to see how your current behavior is impacting your life -- either your personal relationships or your work. One definition of values is that they are a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life.
Step 1: Make a list of all the things that are important to you.
What do you feel are the most significant things needed for you to have a successful life? What do you care about most?
Here are a bunch of options that you can pick from. You can also write your own.
Acceptance, Achievement, Accomplishment*, Admiration,* Adventure*, Athletic*, Art[istic], Authority, Accuracy, Adventure, Ambition*, Attractiveness, Autonomy, Beauty, Belonging, Caring, Chinuch, Comfort, Compassion, Compromise, Conscientious*, Cooperation, Challenge, Change*, Creativity*, Commitment, Complexity, Contribution, Courage, Courtesy, Curiosity, Creativity, Diligence, Ecology, Faithfulness , Dependability, Dignity*, Duty, Excitement, Faith, Fame, Family, Fitness, Flexibility, Forgiveness, Freedom , Friendship, Fun, Generosity, Genuineness, Good Parent*, Genuineness*, Gratitude, Growth, Halacha / Hashem’s[1] Will, Health, Helper*, Home*, Honesty, Hope, Humility, Humor, Imagination, Independence, Industry, Inner Peace, Intelligence, Justice, Knowledge* Leader[ship], Loved, Intimacy, Knowledge, Learning*, Leisure, Loving, Loyalty*, Mastery, Mindfulness, Moderation, Music, Novelty, Money, Monogamy, Non-conformity, Nurturance, Order, Openness, Passion, Perfection*, Pleasure, Power, Proud*, Protect, Purpose, Patriotism, Popularity, Practicality, Provide, Rationality, Realism, Reputation, Respect*, Responsibility, Risk, Role Model, Romance, Safety, Security*, Self-Acceptance, Self-Control, Self-Esteem, Service, Sexuality, Success*, Solitude, Stability, Strong*, Tradition, Wealth, Simplicity, Spirituality, Tolerance, Virtue, Wisdom,* World Peace, Yiddishkeit.
Short list: Family, Financial security, Purpose in life, Harmony, Responsibility, Love, Yiddishkeit, Wisdom, Humility, Honesty, Serenity, Spirituality, Integrity, Trust, Health, Independence
Step 2: After you make your list, choose 5 you feel are the most important.
Step 3: Then ask yourself, does your current behavior enhance or help these values or does it go against them, or is it irrelevant? If it goes against them, how does it interfere?
| What I value the most? | How does my current behavior interfere? |
|---|---|