The Power of Values & Value-based Living
If there was a sure-fire way to ensure that you would enjoy your life from here onwards, would you go for it?
Here is the good news: Such a way exists! It is called value-based living and is different to the one-size-fits all recipes you might have tried before because value-based living will look different for everyone. So what the heck is that?
You may have heard people talk about values and wondered what the fuss about values is, what they are good for and what it even means to ‘live by your values’. You may even have been intrigued to find out more but didn’t know where to start.
Who should try Value-Based Living?
If you are one of the many people who sometimes feel empty or lost in their lives, lack clear purpose or if you are simply fed up with the lack of control you feel you have over your destiny: value-based living is your solution. It will stop you relying on just hope for things to get better and put you in the driver’s seat to feel confident with a clear sense of direction. Value-based living might be just what you need.
Benefits of Value-Based Living
In this short blog post you will find out why values are the single best thing you can use to guide your life if you are interested in building a life that resembles your dreams and gives you a daily dose of joy, sense of meaning and contentment. I call this living on the SilkeyWay but because what matters most to you is different from what matters to others, your SilkeyWay will look completely different from everybody else’s!
More reasons why you should try out value-based living:
- When external guidance no longer applies or not longer serves you, you need inner guidance.
- You need a strong foundation to build your future on, a future you know will fulfil you.
- It’s key for your personal growth. You can’t shake off other’s control over you without it.
- You feel in control of your life (again).
- Helps you with no-regret decisions because you know where to put your energy
- As a person, you will become more reliable, trustworthy and respected due to being consistent (which will be easy for you once you live by your Personal Value Compass)
- You will become an inspiration and energiser to others whether you want to or not.
- You will be able to define your purpose.
The best ways to clarify your values and start value-based living
Ok, you get it. So now you want to know where to start and whether you could just pick a few values from a list?
Of course you can! But consider what’s at stake if you get it wrong?
I have seen lots of readily available value lists online and in books and while they share a lot of common words, they are all different. Some are extensive, some are short, long differently structured and organised.
You might miss out some values that are not on a standardised list but are deeply yours. You might pick values that sound good but are not truly yours. It’s easy to pick a value you think you ‘should’ have when in reality, it’s not one of yours. That’s a big watch-out!
By not being completely certain that your chosen values are truly YOUR deeply held values, you will build your future on unstable ground – like a house with shaky foundations and a pillar missing. But more than that… the absence of full clarity about your values will make you question your values again and again. This opens yourself up to doubts and external influences and pressures (in the form of social media, friends, experts). External influences might even be well-meaning but because they are external they are unlikely to be tailored to your needs and rarely understand your true inner drives. You will not feel that strong unshakeable inner power and confidence that comes from feeling 100% certain that you got your values clear, complete and articulated in a way that most resonates and therefore motivates you going forwards.
So how can you feel 100% certain about your values and your Personal Value Compass?
The answer is two-fold.
1. First of all, do a proper job clarifying your values in the first place.
Just picking them from a list is not what I call a proper job, it could be a part of your process but in my mind in cannot be the end or your only action step. It is vitally important that you put as much effort in this process as your life is worth to you. In fact, that’s exactly what I would recommend. The gold standard is to engage a life coach who specialises in value clarification. Not only will this ensure you do due diligence with a comprehensive value clarification work going as deep and wide as needed. It also ensures the process is tailored to your unique personality. A tailored guided process doesn’t necessarily have to mean 1:1 coaching. You could follow an in-depth process in a guided online course as long as you get personalised support as well as enough challenge to motivate you to look beneath your surface. Without guiding support and challenge we might not see the full picture due to wearing the proverbial ‘blinkers’. Sometimes we simply avoid to see the truth because it may create a bit of discomfort, even if we know full well that only venturing out of our comfort zones can make us grow.
2. Keep applying your values to guide your life and use the resulting feeling of joy and positive energy as your evidence and yard stick. If these feelings don’t appear, keep reflecting on your life outcomes and consider to have your values checked by and with a qualified life coach to be sure your personal value list is complete and adequately articulated for your needs. Once you have developed true clarity around your values, I recommend to organise them into your personalised value compass, a tool you can use in everyday life to guide you with decision-making, planning, recovering from stress and low points as well as relationships and career path choices. Coupled with a reflective practice your compass will soon become part of your subconscious effortlessly guiding you enjoying large amounts of positive energy and fulfilment.
How long does it take to do value clarification?
Expect a thorough value clarification to take some time. I doubt you would do it all in one go, but if you did it would probably take you anything between 4-8 hours of dedicated work and another 8 hours experimenting with application. A weekend workshop might work but for best results spread this work over a few weeks to benefit from your brain connecting the work-in-progress to your life.
What should be your next step?
Join my brand new course IVALYOO that gently guides you to your Personal Value Compass over 8 weeks (various levels of support available). Imagine that! Only 8 weeks to starting the authentic life that you were meant to live, feeling the power and courage to confidently create the life you wished you had. Alternatively, contact me for 1:1 coaching and we will go this path together.
Summary
Your complete set of personal values can serve as powerful guiding principles allowing you to take back control over your destiny so you can confidently and competently co-create the life you want to have and deserve. Most people have never had any guidance on how to find their deeply held values are, can’t articulate them or have never been shown how to create a complete set to build their life on. Make sure you properly invest the time to find your true and complete value set (without getting tempted by short cuts such as picking from random value lists) so you can feel authentic and confident in yourself when courageously taking the most fulfilling actions and life decisions ahead. The investment will serve you for the rest of your life. And you will only wish you had your Personal Value Compass earlier in life!