What are Core Values?

by | Apr 24, 2019 | Core Values

core values

Examining your core values may be a totally new concept to some of you, but it is one of the most frequent exercises/concepts I work through with my clients. I counsel a lot of women and many of them feel overwhelmed, under-fulfilled, anxious, over-committed, or feeling like they are just going through the motions. These feelings apply to moms, single women, wives and older women alike. For many, this is a byproduct of living a life, and making decisions, based on the demands from society/culture or based on the opinions of others. When we get caught up in goals we should have, or with a schedule dictated with what we should be doing, we are living a life distant from who we truly are and not in alignment with what is deeply important to us.  

What are core values?

So, what are core values? I think of core values as those things that are important to you in life or that are priorities for you. That doesn’t mean they are currently a part of your life. So many of us get far removed from our authentic self as we give in to the demands of life.

Many of us don’t sit around thinking about our core values and what is truly important to us. The first step is to set aside some quiet time to reflect on the following three questions:

  1. If your time was 100% yours, how would you spend it? (You have more control than you may realize and I will talk about that next week when we look at ways to manage your time and calendar based on your core values),
  2. As you decide to say “yes” or “no” to something what drives you to make those decisions? (See more on decision making based on core values coming in a couple of weeks),
  3. What is it in life that gives you joy, that brings you energy, and that you feel are important maybe because of spiritual or personal convictions?

To help get you started, the following are some examples: family, recreation, worship, solitude, vacations, physical health, quality connections/ relationships with others, your spouse/partner, serving an underprivileged population, volunteer work, personal growth, leadership, etc.

I encourage you not to wait! Set aside some time this week to make your own personal list. If you feel so distant from your authentic self, or overwhelmed with trauma, grief, anxiety, or depression and making a list like this feels impossible, contact us to let us journey with you in the process.  

Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as we continue the discussion on core values.

Watch our video on the basics of core values:
https://youtu.be/S5pxSEW9fvc