In a recent blog post, I mentioned the importance of hope being informed by values. Values are important guideposts for our lives, they point us in the right direction. Knowing what we value most in life is especially significant when faced with difficult decisions. When life is not directed by what we value, it starts to feel empty, unhappy and hopeless.

If you would like to clarify what your values are, read through the list below and pull out the values that stand out as important to you. If you are like most people, you will find that many of them look good. See if you can narrow it down to a list of 5 to 10 at the most. Then list these 5 – 10 in order of importance. To help you with this, take them two at a time and determine which you would choose if you could only satisfy one of them. Keep comparing each value with the next, until you have them in the correct order.

• Authenticity
• Achievement
• Adventure
• Authority
• Autonomy
• Balance
• Beauty
• Boldness
• Compassion
• Challenge
• Citizenship
• Community
• Competency
• Contribution
• Creativity
• Curiosity
• Determination
• Fairness
• Faith
• Fame
• Friendships
• Fun
• Growth
• Happiness
• Honesty
• Humor
• Influence
• Inner Harmony
• Justice
• Kindness
• Knowledge
• Leadership
• Learning
• Love
• Loyalty
• Meaningful Work
• Openness
• Optimism
• Peace
• Pleasure
• Poise
• Popularity
• Recognition
• Religion
• Reputation
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Security
• Self-Respect
• Service
• Spirituality
• Stability
• Success
• Status
• Trustworthiness
• Wealth
• Wisdom

Now think about your list. Does the way you live now reflect these values? Are there any of them that are not getting expressed? Which of them would you like to be living more of? These reflections may help you identify changes you can make to live a more fulfilling life.

Values tend to be stable over time but they can change. For example, we might prioritize money when we first start our career, and when family arrives, balance might become more important. You can repeat a values exercise like the one above as you enter different stages in your life or when you are feeling unbalanced.

Some of my clients do this exercise and discover that they have been living true to their values in many ways and this realization increases their appreciation for those aspects of their life. I hope this happens for you too. If it has not, I hope this exercise helps you to identify changes you can make to increase your life satisfaction. If you or someone you know needs help to chart a more fulfilling course, we are here to help. You can reach us at 514 223 5327.

Written by: Shawna Atkins, Ph.D., OPQ.