What do you imagine is the most important thing you can ever have in life? Money, happiness, love....
Sure those things are important, but this is something even more important. In fact this is so much more important that without it you cant get some of these three things anyway.
Good values are the foundation of living a good life and essential to wellbeing, purpose and many of these we work with in in life coaching. Values are more important than anything else, more important than money, happiness, love and even your feelings. The relationship between how we feel and what we value is very important when it comes to our wellbeing and even how we treat other people- not just ourselves.
I can recall the times I have acted in ways that don’t honour my values, like drinking too much alcohol when I have an early morning wake up the next day. I can see how that not acting from a place of core values comes at a price to your wellbeing and we are always navigating this dilemma. But it takes practice to recognise impulsiveness and self-awareness to understand your core values; that’s something I have spent a lot of time exploring in coaching for both myself and others.
So how do we know what our values are? You might like do a short meditation to contemplate this question. Begin with the intention of identifying your values and then focus on your breath and body for five minutes. Once your timer goes off after five minutes write down 5 top values that come to mind. Some good examples of values are:
Acceptance: having an objective attitude toward other’s ideas and practices that differ from your own
Compassion: understanding the suffering of others or self and wanting to do something about it
Courage: willingness to do difficult things
Equality: believing everyone deserves equal rights and to be treated with respect
Fairness: acting in a just way, sharing appropriately
Generosity: willingness to give resources, help or time to others
Honesty: being truthful and sincere
Integrity: sticking to your moral and ethical principles and values
Kindness: being considerate and treating others well
Perseverance: persisting in a course of action, belief or purpose
Politeness: using good manners, acting in socially acceptable ways
Respect: showing consideration for the worth of someone or something
Responsibility: being reliable in your obligations
Self-control: staying in control of your words and behaviour
In coaching and counselling we investigate personal, cultural and workplace values and from there begin to develop the self discipline, strategies and goals based on increasing behaviour that is grounded in your values.
In business we make sure values are congruent with the branding, marketing, products and employee processors and personal values. For employers it’s in your best interest that your employee’s personal values align with those of your company because the level of engagement and contribution will lead to greater productivity and performance.
Learning to navigate life with a compass of good moral value is not always easy; often feelings get in the way and cloud your vision but there is help available and it can really make a difference to the quality of your life. If you would like to investigate or re-visit your values and then align them with your 2022 goals then you might be a great candidate for life, leadership or career coaching or counselling. Contact me to find out more.