People all have their own raisons d’être — their reasons for going through life. Core values are part of what guides those, giving you principles with which to navigate the winding roads of adulthood.
How to Identify Your Core Values
Identifying what your core values are can simplify how you make decisions. Having a guiding principle or principles to constantly aim for will help you spend less time weighing the pros and cons of various options in your life.
Not sure what your core values are? Figuring them out is far easier than you may think.
Brainstorming Ideas
- Who has inspired you in your life and what qualities about them were inspiring?
- What was a time when you were "at your best" and why?
- What traits do you admire in other people or aspire to cultivate in yourself
- What are your greatest accomplishments?
- Are there any qualities in others that you can't tolerate?
- If you had to explain yourself in 15 words or fewer to someone who doesn't know you, what would you say?
- What are rules you've set for yourself that you follow strictly?
- What rules have you made but find hard to follow?
- What have been your greatest failures, or what are some things you wish you'd done better?
- What makes you feel good, smile, laugh, or feel fulfilled?
- What values do you envision changing, and which would you like to keep the same?
- Can you identify a time when you feel you were inefficient or your efforts were misguided, and why?
