2.1.1 Identifying core values
Koehler (2023) describes values as ‘the guiding principles that shape our attitudes, actions and decisions’. She goes on to explain that they are ‘deeply ingrained, often subconscious, and integral to our identity.’
It is widely accepted that making a more conscious effort to recognise your values not only enhances your self-awareness, but offers other benefits too. Salyasa (2023) suggests that these benefits include:
- Stress reduction – avoiding situations that do not align with who you are, and going instead with those that better serve your needs. For example, when making career choices.
- Setting priorities – with an understanding of your values, you have an innate understanding of when to compromise and when not to.
There are numerous exercises available online to help you to identify your values. Activity 1 suggests a useful approach. Values work is something that you will need to return to from time to time throughout your career, as your values can alter and develop as you reach different life stages. For example, many people find that having children impacts on their values.
Activity 1 Visually identifying your values
In this activity, you’re going to create a visual values reminder that you can refer back to when necessary. Focus on general values that you consider to be important in your life – they will be equally relevant to your work and career.
Ideally, you should identify between three to five core values that you can easily reflect on. Many more than that, and it becomes much harder to keep them in mind and apply them in your life.
Here is a list of values from a Psychology Today article (Davis, 2018) that you might find useful to start your thinking:
- Authenticity
- Adventure
- Balance
- Bravery
- Compassion
- Challenge
- Citizenship
- Community
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Determination
- Fairness
- Freedom
- Friendship
- Fun
- Generosity
- Growth
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Justice
- Kindness
- Knowledge
- Leadership
- Learning
- Love
- Loyalty
- Openness
- Optimism
- Recognition
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Security
- Self-respect
- Social connection
- Spirituality
- Stability
- Status
- Wealth
- Wisdom.
If you want a longer list, use your preferred search engine to search ‘list of values’ and you’ll find many options.
If you’re struggling to narrow it down to between three and five, many authors recommend thinking about the following scenarios as a prompt:
- times when you felt really happy
- times when you felt really proud
- times when you felt most fulfilled and satisfied.
Identifying why you felt that way, should help you to recognise the values that were important to you at those times.
When you’ve identified your core values, make a note of them in the free response box below.
To help cement them in your mind and give you a quick and easy reference tool to refer back to, look for visual images (or words if you prefer) to represent each value. Be as creative as you like with this – you can use drawings, photographs, cut things out of magazines, or use text. If you’d rather use technology – you could use a visual ideas board app, such as Pinterest or Corkulous, or even design a PowerPoint slide. The point is to create a visual prompt that you can put on your wall or keep on your desk, to quickly remind you of your values when needed.
If you don’t enjoy visual activities, print out a list of values and circle those that you feel are the most important. If you want to take it a step further, you could describe why each value is important to you or find inspirational quotes that reflect each one.
Comment
There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to your values, you are simply identifying the things that are most important to you.
Don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed about the values you choose. For example, some people are reluctant to refer to money or ambition, but these are important if they are the values that drive you, and recognising them will help you to make more appropriate decisions in the future.
Your coach or mentor would be a really useful person to speak to about this process, helping you to identify your values and apply them to your decision making. For example, if one of your values is learning or growth, you could discuss ideas for development with a mentor. Similarly, if one of your values is respect, and you don’t feel you’re working in a respectful environment, you could reflect on what type of working environment might suit you better.