the benefits of understanding your own personal values are huge, they help you find a north star, set your course, and stay true when things get confusing - trust me, doing this is WORTH IT. Doing it again and again, is also hugely beneficial, because people change, you change, contexts change - so it can pull you back on course when you drift - and it can help you set a new course & notice when actually something else is now more important 🌟

step 1 - Start by thinking about something you love to do - what is it? Name it. Then set a timer for 5 minutes & use that time to write about doing it and what you love about it.

step 2 - Compare the thing you love (that you named above) to a noun and then add a because…

 eg. if the thing you love is Walking - in step 1 you've written for 5 minutes straight about how walking feels, what it does for you, the benefits, what you love about it, everything you can think of in that time.

so in step 2 you then could write... for example

Walking is like a crane because it helps me see above the tree tops

then write about 10 more like that, for example

Walking is like a river because it helps me get into flow

Walking is like a clock because time passes consistently

Walking is like friends because it keeps me company

... or whatever...

do them as quickly as you can, make the sentences relevant to you, this whole exercise is about you, so only you know if it feels right!

step 3 - Now look at all your becauses and underline the words you wrote that are important to you, what you really value in that description.

Look at your list of underlined words and try them on for size - interrogate them - which ones do you care about most? You could write a bit about each of them and see if it leads you to another.

step 4 - Finally compare your list of words to the generic list of suggested common core values below (a quick google will bring you many more). Pick out the ones you resonate with.

What stands out?

What surprises you?

What feels like it's missing?

Aim to narrow your list down to 5 by a process of comparison & elimination.

🌟 Come back to this exercise in a month and try it again, see how everything feels then. 

bonus step - now you have some Values to your name; in life, notice when something feels wrong in your gut, often you’re not sure what is off, or how to express it, or you suspect the thing that feels wrong might not align with who you want to be… but notice, as this can sometimes be the shortest route to the Values at your absolute core… and to tune into them we often need to have worked through the other way first. 🤗

afterword -  this exercise is a way to spark awareness about the things you really care about, here and now. The noise out there is loud & other people are very invested in persuading you to join their team and follow their values, so finding your own helps you stay true. (And is hugely useful for creating Goals and all of your planning, to help ensure you focus and avoid burnout!)

EXAMPLE CORE VALUES LIST

• Authenticity

• Achievement

• Adventure

• Authority

• Autonomy

• Balance

• Beauty

• Boldness

• Compassion

• Challenge

• Citizenship

• Community

• Competency

• Contribution

• Creativity

• Curiosity

• Determination

• Fairness

• Faith

• Fame

• Friendships

• Fun

• Growth

• Happiness

• Health

• Honesty

• Humour

• Influence

• Inner Harmony

• Justice

• Kindness

• Knowledge

• Leadership

• Learning

• Love

• Loyalty

• Meaningful Work

• Openness

• Optimism

• Peace

• Pleasure

• Poise

• Popularity

• Recognition

• Religion

• Reputation

• Respect

• Responsibility

• Security

• Self-Respect

• Service

• Spirituality

• Stability

• Success

• Status

• Trustworthiness

• Wealth

• Wisdom