Live Your Core Values: 3 Steps
I don’t have enough time to do all the things I want to do.
I feel uninspired in my career.
I’m not getting what I need from my relationships.
Have you ever wondered why, in spite of good intentions, things just never seem to work out?
I have some good news for you today. It’s not because of bad luck. It’s not because you’re too young or too old or too out of shape or too poor. And stop beating yourself up for lack of motivation.
These problems all relate to one reason: losing focus on your core values.
We don’t have time for all the things we want to do is because we don’t make important things that align with our core values a priority over all of the other things that distract us.
We feel uninspired in our careers because we are not choosing something that makes us feel excited to get up in the morning, and that something always aligns with our core values.
We don’t get what we need from our relationships because we lean too heavily on others who do not support or share our core values.
Core values have a huge impact on lives because they give us purpose and direction. One of the most popular Career Development posts on the Root Cause Analysis Blog is “5 Easy Steps to Determining and Living Your Core Values.” It is a simple exercise that reveals to us that core values are actionable items – that everything we do are either aligned with them or they are not. Determine your core values here:
http://www.taproot.com/archives/33161
“What you seek is seeking you.” ~ Rumi
So after you determine your core values, what do you do with them? How do core values help you live the life you’ve always felt you are meant to live?
Where it typically breaks down is when we don’t make the effort to align these values with our day-to-day lives.
Here are 3 important action items to implement once you decide to build your life on your core values. When you make that intention, getting what you want from life will feel like less of a struggle, “luck” will seem to be in your favor, and motivation will come with ease.
1. Review your core values frequently. Keep them in notes on your iPhone, on a Post-It on your bathroom mirror or any place you look often. It’s important to keep them in front of you daily so you remember what they are. Fully understanding what they are and writing them down is wonderful, but if you do not review them daily, or at least weekly, you will find yourself slowly sailing away from all of the things you hold dear, and it will take a crisis to turn that ship around.
2. Don’t make a major decision without examining them. Buying a house? Changing careers? Going back to school? Getting married? Buying a car? We allow other people and things to influence our decisions all the time when we really should be true to ourselves and align every big decision with our core values. For example, if one of your core values is to “live in freedom,” you will not want to purchase so many items on credit that you are living in bondage to debt.
3. Take inventory of daily small decisions and determine if they fit with your core values. One easy way to stay on track is to mentally review the small decisions you make each day before falling asleep. Keeping a journal is helpful as well. When your decisions don’t line up with your core values, you can get yourself back on track before venturing too far away from yourself. For example, if one of your core values is to “act with mindfulness” you may note that you were served a wonderful meal that day but was so distracted you really didn’t taste the food, or that a friend was sharing a story about her vacation and you were only half listening.
Living our core values is essential to living out our purpose in life and finding true meaning. There is no greater gift we can give to the world or receive for ourselves than to honor our core values, and live the life we are meant to live fully and with passion. Every home, workplace and city is an exciting place to be when it is full of those passionate about life.
We would like to hear about your core values, how they’ve been tested, and how they guide you through challenging times.
