Are You Living Your Values?

I received an email this morning, asking the question: Are you living your values? It kinda stopped me dead in my tracks. My immediate reaction was "Yes, no...kinda sorta?"

I printed out a list of common personal values and did a knee-jerk checklist - things I feel I already live and those I want to. I have some work to do.

While I don't have all the answers to the following questions yet, I'd like to ask you: Are you living your values? If you care to, would you share what they are and how you're living them? If you're not, why not? Do you want to and if so, what will you do to change?

 

I just want to be happy, and yes I'm living it.

 

Not nearly as well as I should. However, I take comfort in the thought, that feeling guilty when I betray my values, means I haven't gone evil yet.

 

I think this is a great topic for discussion! I know for me personally, sometimes I get so wrapped up in the motions each day that I feel like I become a passenger in my own life...sometimes having moments of complacency, letting the chips fall where they may, instead of really fighting for what I want. That's when I become self reflective and step back, evaluate where I'm at, and change paths if I'm not satisfied with where I'm heading. Become more of a driver, less of a passenger (if that makes sense?).

I have a few very basic values, and I think the majority of the time I live them. Not 100%, but I really do make a concerted effort to keep them in mind and action. More than any one value though, I really try to simply be a decent person, and raise good-hearted, intelligent, respectful and responsible children. Regardless of the personal values I choose, if I can succeed in that goal, I'll be the most content woman on this planet! Here's a few examples of how I live my values...

Happy/healthy family (mentally and physically). I live this by being very conscientious of what my kids and I eat, I keep them in sports, and we stay active as a family. We spend time all together, and I also do fun day trips with the kids individually to maintain a strong connection.

Balance (I struggle with this more than any other). I have a hard time separating myself from work when I know something needs to be done. I don't let it cut into my time with my kids, so by default it cuts into any "me time" I have. I'm aware its a problem and I've actually taken two courses in the past 9 months to work on this. Slowly but surely, I'm seeing improvement. Very slowly lol.

Patience (second most difficult one for me). I'm a bit of a perfectionist and when I get something in my head, I want it done now. This is an ongoing work in progress! I have to actually remind myself sometimes that unless its a direct report of mine, they're not required to work according to my timetable...so I need to back off!

Accountability (this is fairly simple for me). Whether at work or at home, those around me are always held accountable for their actions, including (and most importantly sometimes) myself. I'm firm, fair and consistent so this is an easy value to manage in my life.

Ambition. This is something that I haven't always had, but it became a huge importance in my life after having kids. I want them to go after everything their little hearts desire, so if I want ambition out of them, I figured I had to lead by example. I think I do pretty well with it at this point. I'm incredibly determined and I'm always willing to put in the work to get the results I desire.

 

I live my values, but then my core values are really pretty simple