Do you know your values?

Hey there sweet friend!

It’s so inspiring to me to witness another person's challenges, and be able to relate it to my own life. We are all walking along, looking for clues and trying to do our best. In talking with a client the other day, this is what came out of my mouth:

Your values determine what’s important to you. When you are living in alignment with your values, your life has real meaning. When you make choices that are not aligned with your values you know you’ve made a bad decision (things aren’t good).

That’s why we want others to change. So we don’t have to take accountability for our sometimes bad choices. It makes you have to be responsible to align back into your values so you can live your best life and to live it fully. And it’s hard sometimes when others don’t fit the desires we hold in our hearts.

It doesn’t mean you leave anyone behind. (Maybe it might). It does mean it's your responsibility to create what you need without holding someone else responsible for it.

For example: my values are connection, joy and learning. When I have all of those things in my life, I feel really good. Sharing my values with my loved ones helps them understand how they can help me. But it’s not up to them to bring it to me. It’s up to me to create an environment in which I can experience all of those things.

It’s also a great way to connect more deeply with your loved ones, so that you can support them. It just helps make sense of why people are the way they are. And there can be no judgment on what someone else values. They have theirs, you have yours.

Another example: If you are unhappy at your job, I would bet that it doesn’t align with your values. So it’s tough to be in that environment. It makes sense then that your values have a lot to do with your purpose. If you can’t leave the job, just make sure you have other things in your life that do line up with your values.

The purpose of naming your values is to understand yourself better and to make more conscious, aligned decisions that will improve your overall satisfaction. It takes a bit of time on the front end, but I promise you’ll refer to it many times and it’ll help you see more clearly what’s going on for you.

PLEASE NOTE: It's not that we make 'bad or wrong' decisions. Everything happens FOR us to gain more clarity. There is no right or wrong. With experience we just learn more about our preferences. So be easy on yourself and others.

What if you don’t know your values? I recommend finding out. Here’s an exercise from Brené Brown that can help. You can download her PDF:
https://brenebrown.com/resources/living-into-our-values/

Here is also a podcast episode where they walk you through the exercise if you need more assistance: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/living-into-our-values/

All my love and support,
K 💛