Looking back on the times in my life when I’ve felt unmotivated, it was largely because I wasn’t clear on my values. I had lost sight of what was truly important to me.
You can tell what someone values by their actions. When someone values something, they prioritize it. If they value something but their actions don't back it up, it's not really a value.
“Where do my values come from?”
Your values are an outgrowth of your beliefs. The stories you tell yourself about the world around you determine what you see as important and unimportant. In turn, your values inform your actions.
“How can I cultivate values that serve me better?”
You can start by examining and adjusting your current beliefs, mindsets, and assumptions. I go deep into this process in the Mindset Shifts Masterclass.
When you take the time to clarify your values, you'll tap into an endless source of motivation.
When you know what your values are, you'll become intrinsically motivated because you'll start to see how your actions will enable you to experience more of the things that matter to you.
Some of my highest values
I'd like to share with you a few of my highest values. For each one, I also include my underlying belief that drives the value, along with a brief description of how each value expresses itself in my life.
Here's my list, in no particular order:
Value: Continual Growth and Learning
Underlying belief:
I believe learning is an important part of being a productive and effective human being.
How this value expresses itself in my life:
This value is what drives me to continue reading personal development books and learn about new things every day. At this point in my life, this is a habit that I don’t even have to consciously think about.
Value: Self-care/self-love
Underlying belief:
I believe that when you feel good physically, emotionally, mentally, etc, it’s easier to be a good person. You have more energy to deal with life’s challenges and also help others with their challenges.
How this value expresses itself in my life:
This value is what drives me to eat healthy, exercise regularly and otherwise maintain my health. It’s also what drives me to make time for myself and do what excites me, whether that’s taking a vacation, learning about the cosmos, or writing a blog post on my values ;)
Value: Freedom of time and location
Underlying belief:
I believe success is being able to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want.
How these values expresses itself in my life:
These values are what have driven me to become what you might call a "digital entrepreneur." As such, I don't need to be at a specific place at a specific time each day, which is immensely important to me.
Because I run an online business, I don’t have the infrastructure that comes along with physical buildings, employees, etc. For some people, it’s their dream to have dozens or even hundreds of employees, an office building, and other trappings of traditional entrepreneurship. That is not my dream.
Which leads me to my next value...
Value: Peace of mind
Underlying belief:
I believe that much of our negative stress in life is self-created. We can have greater peace of mind by making different lifestyle choices.
How this value expresses itself in my life:
Financially speaking, this value is the reason Vanessa and I enjoy living well below our means. In other words, we spend way less than we make. This gives us the freedom and peace of mind to not have to worry about always making more money just because we're spending more.
This value is also the reason I strive to always be congruent in my thoughts, words, and actions. Acting with integrity helps me sleep better at night.
Value: Self-analysis/introspection
Underlying belief:
I believe self-analysis leads to self-awareness, which makes you a better and more capable human.
How this value expresses itself in my life:
This value is responsible for my habit of taking the time to think deeply about things, examine my belief systems, etc. You’d be surprised by how many people don’t ever take the time to think about who they are, what they believe and why they do what they do. The reason likely has to do with the fact that they do not place much value on self-analysis or introspection.
Value: Kindness/love
Underlying belief:
I believe that many, if not all of our world problems can be mitigated or completely solved through genuine kindness and love.
How this value expresses itself in my life:
To me, this is a basic, foundational value. That’s why so it’s interesting to me when people place such a low importance on it. It’s the reason I employ common courtesy in everyday situations, actively listen to people to understand their perspective, and do my best to not let my bad mood affect my interactions with others.
I’d love to hear what you value most! What are some of the things that drive YOU? Comment some of your highest values below.
Ruben Chavez is a writer, personal development educator, and host of The Think Grow Podcast. He has created a community of over 3 million readers across his collective platforms, including his popular Instagram page ThinkGrowProsper. Along with this blog, these platforms are his way of inspiring and connecting with thoughtful, creative, and ambitious people just like you.
P.S. Do you want to cultivate values that serve you better? It starts with examining and adjusting your current belief systems, mindsets, and assumptions. We go deep into this process in the Mindset Shifts Masterclass. Registration for the Masterclass is open now through September 10th 2018. Learn more here.
