Discover your Core Values
Motivation is your internal engine. It’s the fire that moves you forward. It’s the emotional driver of your actions, driven by your values and your passions.
The best way to discover your values is to understand your passions. The best way to do THAT is to remember what you loved to do most when you were a child.
When you are a child, you do things that you like naturally. You don't analyze why, and you don’t need to know.
Core values don't change much. The more you can go back to the past, the more you will go to the core of your “True Self.”
How do you know that you're living your values?
What energizes you vs. what tires you? Feel into them. This is not so much a thinking exercise as a feeling one.
Make a list of your values based on your passions and rate them from one to ten on how they feel.
My example:
"Creativity and freedom are very important values for me.
When I was working on “the island” making Excel sheets, I had no freedom and no creativity. Working there, I would have rated myself zero or one.
When I started my own company, I decided to do what satisfied my passions and my values.
When I coach people, I’m not thinking about myself at all. I’m completely focused on the person in front of me.
My passions, my values, and my motivations are all aligned, so there is little to no interference from self-doubt or indecision. I can feel that in my body. I feel relaxed, I feel alive. I know I am in the right place, doing the right thing for myself as well as my clients."
Process
- In the “Activities and Dreams” column, write down activities you currently enjoy or have enjoyed in the past.
- In the “Why” column, briefly note the reasons you liked those activities.
- In the “Values” column, write down the keywords that come to mind to describe what values you find in those activities.
STEP 1
Download and print out the PDF to do the exercise.
List up the past and current activities and dreams.
STEP 2
Check or circle the values you think you have from the list below.
You can select as many as you like.
STEP 3
1. Choose your top 5 values from the lists of steps 1 & 2.
2. Rate your level of satisfaction for each of your top 5 values from 0 to 10.
