Core Life Values and How To Determine Yours

Values are fundamental beliefs that motivate your actions and attitudes. Understanding your life values can help you determine what is most important to you.  Gaining a sense of what you value in life can also help you evaluate whether you are achieving your life goals.

Core Life Values and How To Determine Yours
By Pierre Mouchette | Bits-n-Pieces

​What are life values?
Life values are the fundamental core beliefs that guide your behaviors and goals and help you measure your overall success.  For many people, values begin in childhood as their parents teach them some of what they believe to be the most important life values.  However, upon entering adulthood, everyone is responsible for identifying their values, as these factors will serve as motivation and benchmarks for success.
 
Life values and work:  Your values can also influence your priorities and how you spend your time.  If you place a high value on spending time with your family or friends, your career considerations may include opportunities that allow you to achieve a good work-life balance rather than working 80-hour weeks.  If competition motivates you, working in a fast-paced sales job where you compete against other salespeople to achieve your quotas may help you feel more fulfilled at work.
 
Changing life values:  As you consider the values you hold dear, you may find that they shift as you encounter changes in your life.  For example, the values most important to you during your early adulthood may not seem as important if you get married and have children, and they become your primary focus.  Some values remain consistent throughout your life but do not need strict boundaries or limits.  Staying connected to your values and evaluating what is most important is a lifelong exercise that can help you measure your success and feel content.
 
Examples of life values
People all over the globe have different values that motivate them and help them work toward success and happiness in their lives.  Some values are unique to specific cultures, while others are shared motivators that all can understand.
Authenticity - if you place a high value on authenticity, you strive to be real and genuine in your relationships and interactions with others.  To feel proud of yourself, you will likely try to be true to who you are and what makes you unique, such as your personality and spirit.  People who value authenticity are less likely to change their actions or behaviors, regardless of who they are around or any pressure they might feel to act otherwise.
Balance - a value that allows you to work toward finding the right blend between life responsibilities and work responsibilities.  The responsibilities you have in your life could include caring for your family, maintaining your home and even enjoying social gatherings and activities with loved ones.  Any of the responsibilities you have in your personal or professional life can threaten that balance, which can create inner turmoil when balance is one of your key life values.
Citizenship - if you value citizenship as one of your motivating factors in life, you might feel drawn to the responsibilities and rights that come with being part of society.  Some people apply this value to get more involved in social rights and civic duties, such as protesting aspects of society they deem unfair or unequal or running for public office to motivate change.  When citizenship is one of your life values, you may also feel a strong desire to be included in your society and the decisions made that influence the community as a whole.
Community - your community includes the people around you, although that could include the group of people you have chosen to support and motivate you or it could be the people who physically live near you.  A strong sense of community often motivates people to give back to those around them and provide support or assistance where needed.  If your community motivates you, this feeling may also guide the way you interact with and treat others to create a sense of belonging.
Friendships - provide many benefits, from improved mental health to a higher quality of life.  When you feel motivated by your friendships, you may find that you would be willing to do nearly anything for those you have selected as your close friends.  Applying the importance of friendship as a core value can also guide you in other relationships, help you learn more about yourself and allow you to provide support to your group of friends.
Kindness - treating others with kindness can be an important life value, especially when it comes to forming and maintaining relationships.  Kindness is one of the important values to have because it influences the way you view the world and treat other people, regardless of their background or actions.
Learning and knowledge - if learning and knowledge are major sources of motivation for you, gaining new knowledge and continuing to further your education can help you feel fulfilled and content in your life.  When acquiring knowledge is a motivator, you may also strive to work in a field that allows you to share your knowledge with others.
Leadership - for many people, leadership is a value that motivates their personal and professional development, as well as how they interact with other people.  Leaders facilitate action and guide others, working to contribute to a stronger workforce or society.  You may find that this value pushes you to lead by example, motivate people to achieve their full potential and showcase the character traits that make you a stronger leader.
Loyalty - a life value that represents your dedication and commitment to another person or group of people.  This value may be reflected in your professional life if you feel loyal to your employer or the people with whom you work every day.  Loyalty is also an important life value in your personal life, as those you have chosen to surround and support you will expect a degree of loyalty to maintain a strong relationship.
Respect - the life value of respect may include both respect for yourself and those around you.  Self-respect involves treating yourself with kindness and not allowing others to treat you poorly, as well as feeling a sense of pride in yourself.  Treating others with respect may involve accepting people for who they are, even if their beliefs, actions, or motivators differ from yours.  You may also find that your desire for respect motivates you to move up in your career to gain that respect from those around you.
Spirituality - a life value that some may consider very important, while others do not consider critical.  Those who believe in the existence of the human spirit often find motivation in doing good and working toward a larger goal to nurture their spirit and feel a sense of accomplishment.  Spirituality may manifest in organized religion, a connection with nature or even a feeling that you have within yourself of your purpose in life.
Wealth or status - if wealth or status is one of your important life values, your professional life will often reflect a desire to earn more money or move up in the workplace.  You may find that working long hours or earning a promotion makes you feel more fulfilled and content with your life.  Status can also include your social standing within your community or society.
Recognition - can be a strong motivator for those who value being seen and appreciated for what they contribute. If you find that recognition is a life value that matters to you, working in a field where you have more visibility can help you feel fulfilled.
 
How to identify your life values
Now that you know more about some of the common life values that people hold dear, you may be wondering what life values are most important to you and how they influence your actions and behaviors.  Follow these steps to identify your life values.
Identify your happiest times - think about some of the situations in your life when you felt happiest. These situations should include both your personal and professional life to create balance.
Consider the situation - for each of your happiest situations, consider who you were with, what you were doing and what factors contributed to your positive feelings and associations.
Review common values - look at some of the more common life values, such as those on this list, and circle the values that stand out to you or that you feel are part of who you are as an individual.
Order your values - after you have circled the values that stand out to you, put them on a list in order of most important to least important.
Compare - look at your list of values and compare it to the memories of positive situations. Determine the common factors that show the importance of particular values in your overall feelings of happiness.
Identify your top values - use both lists to identify what desire or need was fulfilled in each positive situation and why that particular experience felt especially meaningful to you.