The Power of Your Values

This is the time of year for many of us who connect our values to traditions and meaningful experiences. Values will guide us through our experiences as we embark upon a new year. Connecting our values can bring us together in unity with those we love and care about to express gratitude and appreciation for them. Everyone has values, and some people are more aware of their values’ importance than others.

Your values help form the foundation of your life that will influence your decisions and they are needed in every imaginable situation. The relationships that you have with others are primarily centered around your values for guidance and motivation. Values are instrumental to an individual’s growth and development. They are important and help us to create the future we want to experience.

Most of us follow or choose to continue with the values that we grew up with and internalized as a child. The positive attributes and role of family members serve as empowering factors. We all have our own personal dominate values developed through society like good and bad, right, and wrong. These are beliefs and views that are widely shared among multiple cultures and can stem through family, religious organizations, workplace, institutions, and media sources. We learn to live by the values we accept or until we uncover the ones that are vitally important to us. Values matter because we are more likely to feel better living in accordance with them.

Over the past two decades, researchers have shown how enduring influence can shape cultural values. They were able to trace differences in personalities to early childhood. The broad societal values influenced by how parents raise their children were explored to study how different parenting styles shape the behavior of children. The differences in this study are not surprising because our values are generated early, and we individualize them as we grow and develop. Integrity, empathy, resilience, gratitude, and lifelong learning are among the foundational principles deeply ingrained and integral to our identity.

The role of values is often observed in people with leadership positions. It is what they say and do that puts their character in public view when using guiding principles. Leaders facilitate others to make a positive difference that contributes to a greater good. If you have ever had to direct a group, coordinate a team effort, manage an organization or be the leader of any important tasks, your values were important and mattered. The one main thing in influencing others when leading by example is to remember that people are always watching and listening. Using the power of your values will help to sustain a level of clarity and understanding.

Identifying your core values can increase your confidence and help in making decisions because you know if a decision aligns with your values. Knowing your values can help with achieving goals and, most importantly, help you to improve personal relationships that build a better rapport with others. How would you identify your values? To get started think about who you are and how you live. Consider your beliefs and the things that are most important to you. Values can be determined based on your experiences, your approach to making decisions, factors that have contributed to your feelings, memorable events, and what gives you happiness.

Knowing your values, you will discover what is profoundly important to you. Your values show up in the way you live, work, and play. Values are the roots that keep you grounded to grow towards becoming your best authentic self. They are capable of powerfully influencing our emotional state of mind. Embark on the threshold of a new year by defining your values. Reflect on your experiences and create a list that resonates with you to select values that describe your feelings and behavior. Here is list of personal values for consideration. Review, prioritize, and add to your list, then put it into practice.