Core Values

 

What drives me? What was I born to do? Who do I want to become? How will I measure my life?

This week I did a lot of soul searching.  I spent some time asking my self some hard questions.  While I don’t have all the answers, I gained some wonderful insight about the importance of finding joy in my pursuits.  One of the activities I completed was writing my Personal Constitution.  Discovering my core values was a key element in that assignment. It took time and self reflection.  

In a conversation with a friend this week, I discovered that she had been given the same task in a therapy setting to help her work through her anxiety and depression.  Her therapist explained that living your life contrary to your core values can lead to depression.  Interesting! On the contrary, living a life in harmony with your core values creates confidence and increases self-esteem. Core values play such a powerful role in finding true happiness!

Have you ever heard of the 3 Principles of Success as presented by Hyrum Smith of Franklin Covey? The 3 Principles of Success are self-esteem, productivity, and event control. (I’m sensing a theme here.) Matt Salzberg said: success is based on experiences gained, the impact made, and personal happiness. As you can see, there is strong correlation between core values, self-esteem, happiness, and success.

What exactly are core values?  They are our fundamental beliefs that all our actions are based upon.  A foundation of principles that drives our decisions. They are what drive and motivate us.  For example, Faith is an important value that all my decisions are based on.  My faith led me to my husband. It led me to the place I’m currently living.  It even led me to start on this journey of discovery.  Faith is one of my core values.

 So what are you waiting for? If you really want to find true joy and success, it’s time for some self-reflection. Your core values are in you, just waiting to be discovered.