“Your core values are the deeply held beliefs that authentically describe your soul.” ~ John C. Maxwell
The above quote describes that the core value you hold plays a vital role in describing what you are.
In this vast journey of a beautiful life, we often indulge in a situation where we have to make some choices, small and big choices, that shape our path and define who we are. The decisions we make are our core values which influence our thoughts, our behaviour, our responses, our acts towards others and many more things, just remember one thing is that your life is nothing without values. Without values, you are just an alien living in an unknown world, but it is not possible because every human being has their values which might be known or unknown to them.
Take an example, there is a student who has exams tipping their sword in his neck, but still he chose to do some of his drawings. Now this decision he made to draw knowing his exams are near depicts his values, he has a core value of creativity which led him to draw.
Understanding core values is crucial to living a purposeful life, by knowing your values you get clear on which path you will use on the journey of success, and how you will walk in it.
What is core values?
Core values are the beliefs we have that help us to guide our behaviour and decisions, they are stable over time and shape our attitude and priority. Some of these values are developed in childhood by family and society while others are developed through certain life experiences.
The person is known for his values and having values is important to embark on the journey of success.
Think of any famous person, the person will be famous because of his core values.
Take the example of one famous person from India, he is the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who is famous for fighting against the British to get independent from their colonial rule. But think why he is so famous despite any other freedom fighters? Because his ways to get independence were different and unique. He used to fight with the British but not with his arms but with his jaw, with his actions and deeds, he was a firm believer in non-violence.
Now, here nonviolence was the value he had in his life, which made him unique and famous as well.
Having core values is a must, I know many still don’t know their values and many of you know.
Accepting your core values and working on them is necessary for you to be a successful person.
Humans without values are no less than any animal, the major difference between animals and humans is that humans have values, which make them do things that are accepted in society, it can also help to make decisions and take a step ahead towards their goal to accomplish it.
The values you have are the dominating force that leads your life to the path, any path you might be on, because of your core values.
Think of any decisions you made in life, and now think why you made that particular decision, after knowing why the decision was made, you will know the values you have.
Why Are Core Values Important?
Core values play an important role in our lives, this helps us to know the foundation of our identity and influence our choices. When we know our core values we experience a sense of authenticity and fulfilment, a kind of satisfaction we get after knowing who we are.
But when we do something which is against our values then we feel unease and dissatisfaction.
For example, doing any job that is not in your interest, you are not fluent in that and get exhausted because you are doing it forcefully getting against the values you have. This makes you feel dissatisfied with life and your life gets boring, and uninterested and you become a zombie who forgets to think and work on his interest zones.
Core values can help to know your interest, and working on that can lead to a happy and satisfied life and that’s why core values are important in our lives.
How to Identify Your Core Values
To identify your core values you must indulge in self-introspection and self-reflection, you need to think deeply bringing some incidents in your life again in mind, if you have done which made you proud or something that made you satisfied, then think of the values that were present on that moment.
List down those values. To find your value you must analyze situations that occurred to you, that made you act in a certain way and then think about why you acted like that. And that’s what exactly your values are.
As we discussed in the above example a student chose drawing instead of studying.
Take another example, if a student is asked to give feedback regarding his teacher, and he gives the exact feedback based on his thoughts and experience without faking it like many other students, then his value will be honesty. Because he chose to be honest without any concern for consequences.
Think of any situation that happened where you made a choice like this or acted like this, which will help you to find your values.
Examples Of Core Values
Core values are unique to every person and subjective as well.
If someone values authenticity then he will be honest in every interaction and make honesty his major principle.
If the person values adventure, then he will seek out new experiences and challenges, and he will explore as much as he can.
There are many examples of core values where a person might have values such as
Adventure, Authority, Balance, Boldness, Challenge, Curiosity, Faith, Fame, Friendships, Growth, Happiness, Humor, Justice, Kindness, Knowledge, Leadership, Love, Loyalty, Openness, Peace, Pleasure, Recognition, Religion, Reputation, Respect, Self-Respect, Spirituality, Stability, Success, Trustworthiness, Wealth, Wisdom and many more.
Living in Alignment with Your Core Values
You must live in alignment with your core values by making decisions that reflect your beliefs, this includes setting boundaries in relationships, making a choice of career path or making decisions that prioritise your well-being.
In a few words making alignment with your values will lead to happy and a purposeful life without any dissatisfaction.
If you choose something that doesn’t acknowledge your values then it will lead you to stress and dissatisfaction, you will feel unhappy and your self-confidence will be at the bottom of your feet.
So it is advisable to make decisions acknowledging your core values by taking the time if needed, every decision matters when it comes to creating the path of success, one wrong turn and you cannot reach to your destiny.
Overcoming Challenge In Living with your Core Values
Sometimes following your values might lead to conflicts because not every situation is in the hands of humans, some situations can be so challenging that the person gets confused to choose between his values or to make choices according to the situation.
In that situation, I prefer to listen to the guts, because I believe that sometimes in certain types of situations, you must put your values aside and make decisions.
Take one example, think if in your family a member has committed a murder but in self-defence, despite your honesty, will you give that member’s name if asked by police? certainly not because the murder was committed in self-defence and you will do your best to save that member by sidelining your value.
In this kind of situation, it is okay to put your value aside to save someone from difficulty, which is preferable then endangering someone from your honesty.
But it is important to stay true to yourself and your beliefs in many difficult situations, not all situation demands putting aside your values, some situation demands sticking with your values, and you must stick to them.
For example, In your classroom, everyone is cheating to pass the examination, and even the teacher helps students to do it silently (in some areas they do help) but in this kind of situation sticking to your value is most important, if your value is honesty then stick to it, do not think of other and their advantage but think of your advantage which you will have in future if you stick to your value at that particular moment.
Values are a must in every person, and it is a duty for all to know the values and acknowledge them because in the path to success, your core values can help to walk without getting tired.
various kinds of values are possessed by an individual, which gives brief insight about who they are, and value is their guiding force to walk in the right direction.
An individual must identify his values, and live with his values despite any challenges and conflicts, a person must learn to live and deal with his core values and then finally the person can get ready to walk in the pathway of success.
So find your core values and embark on the journey of success with living a life full of happiness and satisfaction.
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