Core Values - the beliefs that guide you

What makes you unique? What matters to you? What do you stand by? Taking time to clarify your core values and reflect, explore and define so that you can live your core values is what the focus of this 3rd session. Are you living your life using your values as a bench mark or are you projecting other peoples values onto your own life or perhaps they are projecting there values into your life? When you work out your core values you have potential to experience greater happiness when achieving a goal and indeed 'living' than if you are using other people values to live your life by.

Let's get started.

Reflect - Asking yourself some valuable questions and reflecting on yourself now and the values you may have taken into adulthood will allow you to see if the values you have now are indeed YOUR values.

How was your home life when it came to money? Did your family value money? Was it hard to come by or earn? How did your parents/carers work? Career or Job? What value was placed on education in your household? How do you feel about education today? How did you spend free time in your household? What were your hobbies and those as a family? How much time was taken on these interests? How was the expression of love shown in your life in your childhood? What did relationships show you about communication? Can you describe what was unacceptable during your childhood? What did your household NOT tolerate? What is your overall view of your childhood years from a values perspective? For example ''We were all taught to be on time, work hard no matter what and to always respect our elders''

These questions are only a few of the many you could conjure up for yourself. Remember this is a time of reflection and these answers are yours and yours only not to be shared. If you don't want to write the answers just sit and reflect and draw on your childhood to try and look at 3 or 5 values that you feel have come into your adulthood even without consciously allowing them.

Explore - Now that you have a view of the values that surrounded you as a child and have an idea f the values that you have taken into your adult life please no that you don't have to keep these childhood values - It's time to OWN your values. This is not an exercise that is a set and forget one (do it once, read it and then don't revisit) oh no, its constant development and one that can change as you grow and develop. Remember you own these values so they are yours to keep or discard and change.

Another list of questions to ponder and think about, again in your own time -

What inspires you? and what puts you off? What makes you tick? What can you not tolerate? What is the highest quality you admire in others? What must others have for you to be able to form a relationship with them? What fills you with energy and motivation? If it's a person, who is it? What traits do they have that you love? Whats depletes your energy? How does achievement make you feel? How do you respond to the praise of others? Use these questions and many others that you can think of (I promise when you start with these questions you will open a waterfall of others that will have you really thinking 'who am I'?) to start to define your core values.

Define - I have attached a list (by no means exhaustive) of core values list. Use this list, and any other words that you may find fit your core values better and identify your top 20 values. Once you do this look at them and list them in order of priority as a lift of ten. Now, its look at prioritising these values. Which is the one value that you cannot function without? This is number 1. List them and then keep your top 3 or 5. You are by no means discarding the other core values all you are doing is concentrating your life on these 3 or 5. Your values can and will change so be prepared to re-evaluate and be flexible.

Live - Making small changes in your professional and person life to ensure that your values are part of your everyday life will reap so many benefits. Firstly, let's take another look at some questions to help work out if you are currently living your life with these core values. Keep a piece of paper infront of you with your 5 core values written nice and big. Ask yourself these questions -

How do I practice these values in my life? In my daily routine, how do these values show up? What values do you let slide at times? What can be done to bring these values back into your life? Picture a typical day where you lived these values. What would that day look like? What can you do more of? What can you do less of? so that you values show up more in your life. If you were a business what would be your vision statement? How could you start living this statement?

Again, this is by no means an exhaustive list but I think you get where I'm coming from. Stick with it, you will surprise yourself. Living these values will require work and also some de-cluttering of your life. Some friends may have the opposite values and this may drain you. You need less of this contact in order for you to fulfill your ownership of your core values. Make decisions based on your core values and again reconfirm that you are not projecting other peoples values into your own life or check that perhaps others are projecting there values into your life.

Being aware of these core values and the affect it has on your living takes work but don't shy away from the true you... show off your core values, live by your core values, be around people who represent your core values and most of all make sure its YOUR core values you are living by and not anyone else's!

My free introductory sessions are filling fast. If you interested in a FREE 30 minutes session please contact me.

Be kind to yourself and enjoy the rest of your week. Next week we have looking at manifesting and visualisation, very powerful tools.

By for now.

Dawn