Getting on track for 2020 through your values

Want to get fitter, smarter, happier or healthier? Perhaps get a new job or go on more holidays.

When you first set a goal, it feels good and we are full of motivation to succeed. This is not surprising as we receive an endorphin hit in the brain and we go straight into action until we hit our first snag. 

Instead of setting goals why not connect with your values as a means of helping you live a life with greater meaning and purpose. The research is in and there’s is an overwhelming positive relationship between a life with meaning and wellbeing.

 Values work like a compass and aren’t tied in with achievement, yet they can steer you effectively towards what you want more of.

 A common method used to get in touch with core values is to write your own obituary. Sounds morbid but it’s an efficient way of distilling what’s important to you. Ask yourself what do you want to stand for? What do you want your kids to remember about their childhood? This may feel uncomfortable as your inner critic will be quick to judge what you could do better. From how clean your house is, to how well you manage parenting demands, the work life juggle or just not being fun enough. This response comes from one of your values not feeling met.

Instead of getting caught up in the “I’m not good enough story” pull out the value to anchor to. For example, if you value being organised this will motivate you to set aside time map out work life balance demands.   

 Another method is to pick what values are most important from a list of core values.

Choose your top 3 out of these 10 values – calmness, security, joy, ambition, health, flexibility, teamwork, freedom, optimism and traditionalism. 

These values will tie in with how you parent and what you prioritise for your children. Let’s look at some examples: 

·      Ambition means returning to a certain type of job is important and ties in with self-identity.

·      Health means that diet, exercise and stress management are prioritised

·      Joy pulls you into present moment experiences that feel good and making time for pleasure

·      Security impacts on living within your means and paying bills first

 Do you get the picture?

We operate from our values un consciously and we tend to be drawn to people with aligned values. So the next time you’re feeling defeated, tap into your values to help understand what motivates you to keep going.