Get clear about your values
“One of the most important keys to self-motivation is to clearly identify your core values in life. You must decide what matters most. Many people think, ‘I know what’s important, I don’t need a list to remind me.’ What they ...
“One of the most important keys to self-motivation is to clearly identify your core values in life. You must decide what matters most. Many people think, ‘I know what’s important, I don’t need a list to remind me.’ What they don’t fully understand, however, is that core values often serve as critical guides for making important decisions.”
Mac Anderson: Charging the Human Battery: 50 Ways to Motivate Yourself
One of the most powerful sources of energy you can have comes from knowing that you are living your values. And while most people intuitively have good solid values, few of us have put much thought into what those values are, much less how they are reflected in our daily attitudes and actions.
When you think about your values, be sure to distinguish between values and the things your value. Many of the things we call values are in fact outcomes: good health, financial security, a great family life, rewarding work – even personal character – are outcomes. They are the result of your actions and behaviors. The more clear you are about your underlying core values, the more your daily actions, and the habits they build, will help you carve that statue of the ideal meant-to-be you I mentioned before.
The most comprehensive and systematic course on personal values that I know of is the Values Coach course on The Twelve Core Action Values. These are universal values that transcend specific political opinion or religious belief (or non-belief). From Authenticity (Core Action Value #1) through Leadership (Core Action Value #12) these are your values, and living them will give energy to your life. Each of the twelve values is reinforced by four cornerstones that put action into the value. The course outline is included in the graphic below. And as a special benefit, you can download a complementary eBook edition of the 400-page workbook on The Twelve Core Action Values – which is not available for retail sale – at this web link: http://www.valuescoachinc.com/the-twelve-core-action-values-free-ebook.
