How to Work Out Your Top 3 Personal Values

Summary

The video explores the importance of understanding personal values, which act as a guiding compass for decision-making and self-leadership. It emphasizes that values are deeply connected to our personal stories, priorities, passions, and principles. To identify your core values, you should reflect on your life experiences, how you spend time and money, your aspirations, and influences. The process includes analyzing past experiences, examining spending habits, and understanding your passions and beliefs. Once identified, these values can guide decisions and lead to a more fulfilling life.

Takeaways

• 🧭 Values act like a compass, guiding our decisions and helping us lead ourselves and others.
• 💡 Values refer to the principles and beliefs that hold significant importance in our lives.
• 🌍 If you're unaware of your values, you may unconsciously live according to others' principles and priorities.
• 🔍 Assessing core values can be done by reflecting on personal stories, priorities, passions, and principles.
• 📖 Personal stories, including your biggest successes, failures, and fears, can help you understand your values.
• 💸 How you allocate your resources, such as money and time, reflects your priorities and what you truly value.
• 🔥 Passions, or what drives you emotionally, reveal your underlying motivations and desires.
• 🔗 External influences, including role models, books, and beliefs, impact the development of your passions and values.
• 📝 Once you have assessed your personal stories, priorities, and passions, you can define and identify your core principles.
• 🎯 By identifying three to five key principles, you can make better decisions, set meaningful goals, and lead a more fulfilling life.

Q & A

What are personal values and why are they important?

Personal values are principles and beliefs that guide our lives and decision-making. They act as a compass, helping us lead ourselves and others effectively. Knowing your values is crucial for living according to your own priorities rather than others' principles.

How is 'value' defined in both monetary and moral terms?

In monetary terms, value is the amount of importance we place on something, reflected in how much we're willing to pay for a product or service. In moral terms, value refers to an ideal we give a high degree of importance to, which guides our behavior and decisions.

What is the consequence of not knowing your own values?

If you don't know your values, you may unknowingly live your life based on other people's principles and priorities, which can lead to dissatisfaction and a lack of purpose.

How can personal stories help in identifying core values?

By reflecting on personal stories—such as moments of happiness, pride, success, failure, fear, or shame—you can identify the underlying principles that made these experiences positive or negative. This helps reveal your core values.

What role do priorities play in determining values?

Priorities and values are closely linked. You can assess your values by examining where you spend your resources, such as time and money. The areas where you invest the most indicate what you value most.

How do time and money reflect our values?

Money shows tangible expressions of what we prioritize by how we choose to spend it. Time, being a finite resource, also indicates our values by how we allocate it to different activities throughout the day or week.

What is the significance of passions in determining values?

Passions are emotional drivers that either attract us to or repel us from things or people. Reflecting on your dreams, beliefs, and influences can help you understand what deeply motivates you, revealing your values.

How can external influences shape our values?

External influences, such as people we know, admire, or respect, shape our values. By reflecting on who you follow, the books you read, and the principles of those around you, you can gain insights into your own values.

How do principles emerge from personal stories, priorities, and passions?

After reflecting on personal stories, priorities, and passions, you can identify patterns and trends in your values. These patterns help you define your key principles—the core beliefs that guide your decisions.

What is the next step after identifying core values?

Once you've identified your core values, the next step is to use them to guide your decisions, set goals, and live a more fulfilling life. Regular reflection on these values can also help you refine and rank them as needed.