Understanding Your Values: Discovering what REALLY matters to you!
Can you remember a time when someone asked you to reflect on your values? I can’t. Yet, understanding our values is how we can be clear about what exactly is important to us. How can we even begin to consider the Power of the Possible and what we are capable of, if we don’t know how we want to show up in this world?
What are Values?
Values are the guiding principles that motivate us and describe who we want to be and how we want to engage with others.
Research has shown that it can be helpful to focus on the 2 values that are most important to you, to distinguish our core beliefs. This doesn’t mean that other values aren’t important to us, rather it establishes our most fundamental priorities in life.
Not sure what your values are? Take some time to reflect and review the list below.
Why are values important?
Our values directly impact our behaviours and how we experience the world. They can also help to ground our thoughts and actions as the internal compass for who we want to be.
“Living into our values means that we do more than profess our values, we practice them. We walk our talk - we are clear about what we believe and hold important, and we take care that our intentions, words, thoughts, and behaviors align with those beliefs.” ~ Brené Brown
What are the risks if I don’t honour my values?
When we don’t understand our values, we risk moving through the world in ways that don’t align with who we want to be, and this can have a tremendous impact on our physical, mental and spiritual wellness.
“Accountability is one of my core values, as it is incredibly important for me to live my life in ways that allow me to be accountable for what I say and how I behave. A few years ago, I was struggling to maintain a friendship with someone whom I had known for many years. When I began to reflect on why our friendship was falling apart, I realized that I had treated my friend in ways that I wasn’t proud of, and this resulted in me distancing myself from my friend and more importantly, avoiding having an honest conversation with them because I felt ashamed. I knew that my behaviour was not in alignment with my values nor the type of friend that I wanted to be. I was shocked at the physical and mental impact that this had on my health and decided at that moment that I needed to make more of an effort to show up with my friends in ways that would allow me to be accountable for my actions.” ~ Amelia, GBV Prevention Education Coordinator | Student Experience
Living according to our values isn’t always easy – but are the risks worth it?
We all deserve the opportunity to live according to our values and in doing so, we can continue to advocate for our own well-being.
How can I better understand my values?
- Pay attention to how interactions feel – sometimes we may not realize what our values are until someone challenges them.
- Be prepared for compromises – living into our values doesn’t give us permission to disregard the values of others.
- Try Brené Brown’s Living into Our Values exercise.
Want to learn more?
Join these upcoming workshops to learn more about values in professional spaces and balancing our values with cultural respect while travelling abroad! No registration is required.
Bringing Our Values Elsewhere | Monday, November 17th 12:30 – 2 p.m. | Thames Hall Rm 3194
Bringing Our Values to Work | Tuesday, November 18th 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Thames Hall Rm 3191
