Last week I shared with you Why Personal Values Matter, which is a pretty vast topic, but once you have done the work to understand what your personal values are, there are ways to incorporate them into your daily life.
1. Make them Visible: Put them in a prominent location (or locations) where you will see them as a reminder to yourself. Change your computer screen image to a list of your core personal values. Put them in a Word doc, use a nice font and print them out and put them in a frame on your desk or bedside table or use a post it on your bathroom mirror.
2. Share them with the important people in your life. Verbalizing your values allows you to crystallize them in your own mind, and also let’s them know what you hold most dear. This honesty about yourself allows you to have deeper relationships and allows those closest to you to understand why you make the decisions you make.
3. Fill your life with people who fill you up, not empty you out. Everyone in your life does not have to share all of the same values, but surrounding yourself with people who respect your values is critical. Example, not everyone values fitness in the same way you do, and that’s okay, but it’s not okay if they don’t ever ask about your upcoming 5K or worse try to make you feel bad for time spent at the gym.
4. Review your tasks each day. Identifying your core values help guide your decisions as you move through the course day. Back to the fitness value, if that is on your list, you will prioritize a workout. If relationships are an important value perhaps you add in to your day to call your mum or text someone a hey, I’m thinking about you message.
5. Integrate your values into your conversations. This serves to both remind yourself and let those around you know what’s important to you.
6. Apply your values as motivators. It may be really challenging to get to the gym on a Tuesday in January when you have stacks of work and phone calls to return. Think about your long term vision for yourself, the little decisions you make now, build to achieving the you of the future . Missing a day or even having an off month doesn’t mean you can’t reset, remember, today is the first day of the rest of your life,
7. Evaluate your day. I am not suggesting that you rate yourself or beat yourself up, but taking a moment for reflection on the events of your day can help you make sure you are honoring your values. I find for many of us, the end of the day is the perfect time to acknowledge gratitude.
Curious to more clearly define your personal values and how identifying them and incorporating them into your daily life? Then give me a call. I work with clients remotely or in person and I would love to work through the process together.
