What Are Your Values? - Decision Making - Mind Tools

Deciding What's Most Important in Life ... How would you define your values? Before you answer this question, you need to know what, in general, values are. Your ... MENU JointheClubFor$1! Login SkillAreas Back SkillAreas LeadershipSkills TeamManagement StrategyTools ProblemSolving DecisionMaking ProjectManagement TimeManagement StressManagement CommunicationSkills CreativityTools LearningSkills CareerSkills LearningFormats Back LearningFormats Bite-SizedTraining BookInsights(Audio) CareerCafe ExpertInterviews(Audio) Forums Infographics Learningstreams MindToolsApp MyLearningPlan Quizzes TemplatesandWorksheets Videos ForYourOrganization Newsletter Blog AboutUs HomeDecisionMakingTheImpactofEthicsandValuesWhatAreYourValues? BytheMindToolsContentTeam BytheMindToolsContentTeam (632) 632ratings 9MINREADWhatAreYourValues?DecidingWhat'sMostImportantinLife   Howwouldyoudefineyourvalues? Beforeyouanswerthisquestion,youneedtoknowwhat,ingeneral,valuesare. Yourvaluesarethethingsthatyoubelieveareimportantinthewayyouliveandwork. They(should)determineyourpriorities,and,deepdown,they'reprobablythemeasuresyouusetotellifyourlifeisturningoutthewayyouwantitto. Whenthethingsthatyoudoandthewayyoubehavematchyourvalues,lifeisusuallygood–you'resatisfiedandcontent.Butwhenthesedon'talignwithyourpersonalvalues,that'swhenthingsfeel...wrong.Thiscanbearealsourceofunhappiness. Thisiswhymakingaconsciousefforttoidentifyyourvaluesissoimportant. Clickhere   toviewatranscriptofthisvideo. HowValuesHelpYou Valuesexist,whetheryourecognizethemornot.Lifecanbemucheasierwhenyouacknowledgeyourvalues–andwhenyoumakeplansanddecisionsthathonorthem. Ifyouvaluefamily,butyouhavetowork70-hourweeksinyourjob,willyoufeelinternalstressandconflict?Andifyoudon'tvaluecompetition,andyouworkinahighlycompetitivesalesenvironment,areyoulikelytobesatisfiedwithyourjob? Inthesetypesofsituations,understandingyourvaluescanreallyhelp.Whenyouknowyourownvalues,youcanusethemtomakedecisionsabouthowtoliveyourlife,andyoucananswerquestionslikethese: WhatjobshouldIpursue? ShouldIacceptthispromotion? ShouldIstartmyownbusiness? ShouldIcompromise,orbefirmwithmyposition? ShouldIfollowtradition,ortraveldownanewpath? So,takethetimetounderstandtherealprioritiesinyourlife,andyou'llbeabletodeterminethebestdirectionforyouandyourlifegoals   ! Tip: Valuesareusuallyfairlystable,yettheydon'thavestrictlimitsorboundaries.Also,asyoumovethroughlife,yourvaluesmaychange.Forexample,whenyoustartyourcareer,success–measuredbymoneyandstatus–mightbeatoppriority.Butafteryouhaveafamily,work-lifebalancemaybewhatyouvaluemore. Asyourdefinitionofsuccesschanges,sodoyourpersonalvalues.Thisiswhykeepingintouchwithyourvaluesisalifelongexercise.Youshouldcontinuouslyrevisitthis,especiallyifyoustarttofeelunbalanced...andyoucan'tquitefigureoutwhy. Asyougothroughtheexercisebelow,bearinmindthatvaluesthatwereimportantinthepastmaynotberelevantnow. DefiningYourValues Whenyoudefineyourpersonalvalues,youdiscoverwhat'strulyimportanttoyou.Agoodwayofstartingtodothisistolookbackonyourlife–toidentifywhenyoufeltreallygood,andreallyconfidentthatyouweremakinggoodchoices. Step1:Identifythetimeswhenyouwerehappiest Findexamplesfrombothyourcareerandpersonallife.Thiswillensuresomebalanceinyouranswers. Whatwereyoudoing? Wereyouwithotherpeople?Who? Whatotherfactorscontributedtoyourhappiness? Step2:Identifythetimeswhenyouweremostproud Useexamplesfromyourcareerandpersonallife. Whywereyouproud? Didotherpeopleshareyourpride?Who? Whatotherfactorscontributedtoyourfeelingsofpride? FREELifePlan2022! Makeyourpersonalplanforachievingyourgoalsanddreams- FREEwhenyoujointheMindToolsClubbeforemidnight,Jan6. FindOutMore!   SubscribetoOurNewsletter Receivenewcareerskillseveryweek,plusgetourlatestoffersandafreedownloadablePersonalDevelopmentPlanworkbook. ReadourPrivacyPolicy Step3:Identifythetimeswhenyouweremostfulfilledandsatisfied Again,usebothworkandpersonalexamples. Whatneedordesirewasfulfilled? Howandwhydidtheexperiencegiveyourlifemeaning? Whatotherfactorscontributedtoyourfeelingsoffulfillment? Step4:Determineyourtopvalues,basedonyourexperiencesofhappiness,pride,andfulfillment Whyiseachexperiencetrulyimportantandmemorable?Usethefollowinglistofcommonpersonalvaluestohelpyougetstarted–andaimforabout10topvalues.(Asyouworkthrough,youmayfindthatsomeofthesenaturallycombine.Forinstance,ifyouvaluephilanthropy,community,andgenerosity,youmightsaythatservicetoothersisoneofyourtopvalues.) Accountability Accuracy Achievement Adventurousness Altruism Ambition Assertiveness Balance Beingthebest Belonging Boldness Calmness Carefulness Challenge Cheerfulness Clear-mindedness Commitment Community Compassion Competitiveness Consistency Contentment ContinuousImprovement Contribution Control Cooperation Correctness Courtesy Creativity Curiosity Decisiveness Democraticness Dependability Determination Devoutness Diligence Discipline Discretion Diversity Dynamism Economy Effectiveness Efficiency Elegance Empathy Enjoyment Enthusiasm Equality Excellence Excitement Expertise Exploration Expressiveness Fairness Faith Family-orientedness Fidelity Fitness Fluency Focus Freedom Fun Generosity Goodness Grace Growth Happiness HardWork Health HelpingSociety Holiness Honesty Honor Humility Independence Ingenuity InnerHarmony Inquisitiveness Insightfulness Intelligence IntellectualStatus Intuition Joy Justice Leadership Legacy Love Loyalty Makingadifference Mastery Merit Obedience Openness Order Originality Patriotism Perfection Piety Positivity Practicality Preparedness Professionalism Prudence Quality-orientation Reliability Resourcefulness Restraint Results-oriented Rigor Security Self-actualization Self-control Selflessness Self-reliance Sensitivity Serenity Service Shrewdness Simplicity Soundness Speed Spontaneity Stability Strategic Strength Structure Success Support Teamwork Temperance Thankfulness Thoroughness Thoughtfulness Timeliness Tolerance Traditionalism Trustworthiness Truth-seeking Understanding Uniqueness Unity Usefulness Vision Vitality Step5:Prioritizeyourtopvalues Thisstepisprobablythemostdifficult,becauseyou'llhavetolookdeepinsideyourself.It'salsothemostimportantstep,because,whenmakingadecision,you'llhavetochoosebetweensolutionsthatmaysatisfydifferentvalues.Thisiswhenyoumustknowwhichvalueismoreimportanttoyou. Writedownyourtopvalues,notinanyparticularorder. Lookatthefirsttwovaluesandaskyourself,"IfIcouldsatisfyonlyoneofthese,whichwouldIchoose?"Itmighthelptovisualizeasituationinwhichyouwouldhavetomakethatchoice.Forexample,ifyoucomparethevaluesofserviceandstability,imaginethatyoumustdecidewhethertosellyourhouseandmovetoanothercountrytodovaluableforeignaidwork,orkeepyourhouseandvolunteertodocharityworkclosertohome. Keepworkingthroughthelist,bycomparingeachvaluewitheachothervalue,untilyourlistisinthecorrectorder. Tip: Ifyouhaveatoughtimedoingthis,considerusingPairedComparisonAnalysis   tohelpyou.Withthismethod,youdecidewhichoftwooptionsismostimportant,andthenassignascoretoshowhowmuchmoreimportantitis.Sinceit'ssoimportanttoidentifyandprioritizeyourvalues,investingyourtimeinthisstepisdefinitelyworthit. Step6:Reaffirmyourvalues Checkyourtop-priorityvalues,andmakesurethattheyfitwithyourlifeandyourvisionforyourself. Dothesevaluesmakeyoufeelgoodaboutyourself? Areyouproudofyourtopthreevalues? Wouldyoubecomfortableandproudtotellyourvaluestopeopleyourespectandadmire? Dothesevaluesrepresentthingsyouwouldsupport,evenifyourchoiceisn'tpopular,anditputsyouintheminority? Whenyouconsideryourvaluesindecisionmaking,youcanbesuretokeepyoursenseofintegrityandwhatyouknowisright,andapproachdecisionswithconfidenceandclarity.You'llalsoknowthatwhatyou'redoingisbestforyourcurrentandfuturehappinessandsatisfaction. Makingvalue-basedchoicesmaynotalwaysbeeasy.However,makingachoicethatyouknowisrightisalotlessdifficultinthelongrun. KeyPoints Identifyingandunderstandingyourvaluesisachallengingandimportantexercise.Yourpersonalvaluesareacentralpartofwhoyouare–andwhoyouwanttobe.Bybecomingmoreawareoftheseimportantfactorsinyourlife,youcanusethemasaguidetomakethebestchoiceinanysituation. Someoflife'sdecisionsarereallyaboutdeterminingwhatyouvaluemost.Whenmanyoptionsseemreasonable,it'shelpfulandcomfortingtorelyonyourvalues–andusethemasastrongguidingforcetopointyouintherightdirection. Thissiteteachesyoutheskillsyouneedforahappyandsuccessfulcareer;andthisisjustoneofmany toolsandresourcesthatyou'llfindhereatMindTools.Subscribetoour freenewsletter,or jointheMindToolsClubandreallysuperchargeyourcareer! AddthisarticletoMyLearningPlan MarkarticleasComplete ShowRatings HideRatings Ratings Ratethisresource Freeloginneeded. Login / CreateLogin. EndsSoon-FREELifePlanWorkbook JointheMindToolsClubbefore Jan6,andgetaFREE LifePlan2022. FindOutMore JointheMindToolsClub SignupforourFREEnewsletter Comments(132) Overamonthago Midgiewrote Hiasiarivera, WelcometotheMindToolsClubwhereItrustyouwillfindmanyresourcesandsupportfromothermembersofgreatvaluetoyou. Itoohavehealthasmynumberonevalue.ThisisbecauseofmypastexperienceswhereIdidnothavegoodhealthandIwasunabletodoanythingelse,veryliterally.Now,professionally,Icarryonwithmyworkasacoachandtrainer,yetIaimtokeepmywell-beingattheforefrontofmymind.Thatmeans,forme,extremeself-careandmanagingmyworkloadtonotoverlystressmybody(ormind). WhynotcomeovertotheForumsandpostyourquestionthere.Itwouldbeinterestingtoseewhatothershavetoshare. Midgie MindToolsTeam Overamonthago asiariverawrote I'mherebecausemypastdesitionsinmyworkactivitiesledmetolosemyhealth.I'mslowlyrecoveringitandIfeelgoodaboutit.ItriedashardasIcouldtofocusonwhathasbroughtmehappiness,pride,fulfillment,andsatisfaction.EventhoughI'vebeenthroughwonderfulexperiencesinmylife,thevalue"health"camefirstinmylist. Ijustwonderwhatutilitydoesthathavetodowithmyprofession?Ireallydon'twanttobecomeahealthcoachoranutritionist,orapsychologist.haha...Imean,ittakesatollonmetodealwithmyownmiseryimaginewithothers? Imean,comefromaworldofart,enjoyment,music,computers...Imean...IfeellikeIdidsomethingwrongwiththisexercise. Overamonthago Midgiewrote Hicuriousdreamer, Itisgreattohearthatyouwanttociteusinyouracademicpaper.Dependingonwhatreferencingstyleyouuse,IuseHarvardReferencingFormat,youcanuseMindToolsasthecorporateauthorandthedatepublishedthedateforwhenyouaccessedthearticle. Pleaserefertothislinkformoreinformationaboutcitingourresources:https://www.mindtools.com/php/Permissions.php?e=rdqpermissionshelpdesk#Cite Goodluckonyourpaper. Midgie MindToolsTeam ViewAllComments PreviousArticle Previous NextArticle Next SubscribetoOurNewsletter Receivenewcareerskillseveryweek,plusgetourlatestoffersandafreedownloadablePersonalDevelopmentPlanworkbook. ReadourPrivacyPolicy SubscribetoOurNewsletter Receivenewcareerskillseveryweek,plusgetourlatestoffersandafreedownloadablePersonalDevelopmentPlanworkbook. ReadourPrivacyPolicy EndsSoon-FREELifePlan2022Workbook Getour2022 LifePlanWorkbook, absolutelyFREEwhenyoujointheMindToolsClubbefore midnight,January6. FindOutMore 1DaytoGo! AllowYourTeamtoLearnFromHome Discover MindToolsforBusiness-empoweringeveryoneinyourorganizationtothriveatworkwithaccesstolearningwhentheyneedit.  FindOutMore 1DaytoGo! YourViews ProvideYourFeedback WhatBugsYou Letusknowyoursuggestionsoranybugsonthesite,andyoucouldwina $50Amazonvoucher! Clickheretotellus. SponsoredLinks Toolkit LeadershipSkills(60) TeamManagement(310) StrategyTools(144) ProblemSolving(47) DecisionMaking(57) ProjectManagement(65) TimeManagement(64) StressManagement(76) CommunicationSkills(150) CreativityTools(29) LearningSkills(56) CareerSkills(212) MyLearningPlan AddArticletoMyPlan SaveMyPlan RecentlyAdded {{latestItems.length}} {{item.rm_title_short}} {{item.pgr_name}} MyLearningPlanPage FindOutMore SubscribetoOurNewsletter Receivenewcareerskillseveryweek,plusgetourlatestoffersandafreedownloadablePersonalDevelopmentPlanworkbook. ReadourPrivacyPolicy SubscribetoOurNewsletter Receivenewcareerskillseveryweek,plusgetourlatestoffersandafreedownloadablePersonalDevelopmentPlanworkbook. ReadourPrivacyPolicy Processing Pleasewait...