Define imy how to#

(you’ll expand and further define your values later). Try to sum up your ideas in as few words as possible. Your list should reflect what is important and personal to you, not what others (your family, friends, peers) may expect from you. Ask yourself: What do I care about the most in the world? Make a list with as many things as you can think of. “Values” is just a label we use to contain the things that are important to us.

Define imy how to#

Here’s how to pull those ideas to the forefront: 1) Reflect on what’s important to you. Even if you haven’t vocalized them, they’re a reflection of the most important aspects of your life. These steps can guide you in thinking about your values in an intentional way. There is so much power in understanding what your values are - they can help you make decisions, guide your career, and even live a happier life. That doesn’t mean finding, defining, and knowing how to use your values isn’t important. And your employer will probably never base your annual performance reviews on how you use them. You likely won’t be asked to identify your values for any job. Most of us aren’t taught how to do this type of self-reflection in school. After all, the importance of identifying and using them isn’t emphasized in our society. These are my values.” After more conversations, the first group often realizes that they do have some ideas about their values, and the second group realizes that their values are mostly just a list of words without substance.īoth reactions are valid - it’s not easy to have clarity around your values.

They either say “I’ve never actually thought about that…” or “Oh, easy. Ask yourself: What is lurking behind my frustration? Is one of my values not being met?Īs a career coach, when I ask my clients this question, I usually get one of two answers. One way to practice using your values is to reflect on a situation that’s frustrating you. You’ll know you have identified your values and truly defined them once you find yourself looking at the world around you through the framework of your values.

Ask yourself: If somebody were to wake me in the middle of the night and ask me to define my values, could I answer? Write down what each of the values you identified really means to you, and try to keep your definition as short as possible - you want to be able to easily remember your values and how you define them. To identify yours, reflect on what’s important to you, create a list of the top three things, and rank them if you can. But how can you think about your values in an intentional way? There’s so much power in understanding what your values are - they can help you make decisions, guide your career, and even live a happier life.