As we progress through life, we value different things at different times; ever evolving creatures. It is wise, from time to time, to reevaluate these values to ensure we are investing our time, energy, and finances into what we feel is most important at this time in our lives. This is a pretty important step in achieving a sense of fulfillment and overall contentment. When we are not consistently living in accordance with our identified values, we often experience a sense of distress or frustration.

So what’s the easiest way to go about reassessing your values so you can chiefly identify where you want your resources to go? Let’s take a look…

In a nutshell, there are 16 key values people generally say they want to experience at some point or another in their lives:

  • Achievement – accomplish something important in life; be involved in significant activities; succeed at what I’m doing.
  • Adventure – experience variety and excitement; respond to challenging opportunities.
  • Aesthetics – appreciate and enjoy beauty for beauty’s sake; be artistically creative.
  • Authority/ Power – be a key decision-maker, directing priorities, activities of others, and/or use of resources.
  • Autonomy – be independent, have freedom, live where I want to be and do what I want to do.
  • Generosity – give time and/or money to benefit others; express gratitude for blessings in life.
  • Health – be physically, mentally, and emotionally well; feel energetic and have a sense of well-being.
  • Integrity – be honest and straightforward, just and fair.
  • Intimacy/Friendship/Love – have close personal relationships, experience affection, share life with family and friends.
  • Pleasure – experience enjoyment and personal satisfaction from my activities.
  • Recognition – be seen as successful; receive acknowledgement for achievements.
  • Security – feel stable and comfortable with few changes or anxieties in my life.
  • Service – contribute to the quality of other people’s lives and help to improve society or the world.
  • Spiritual Growth – have communication or harmony with the infinite source of life.
  • Wealth – acquire an abundance of money or material possessions; be financially rich.
  • Wisdom – have insight, pursue new knowledge, have clear judgment, and use common sense in life situations.

I’m sure all of these things sound great on some level, but the reality is we cannot experience all of them cohesively and simultaneously in each’s entirety. Let’s assume we have to give up 11 of these values. With the remaining 5, rank them in order of preference.

Now, look over YOUR top 5 and give thought to whether you are channeling all your resources (time, energy, finances, etc.) into these areas. You may find that your resources are going directly where you desire for them to go. Fantastic! However, many of us find that we’ve gotten a bit askew in our actual lived priorities versus the listed prioritized values. Maybe it’s time for significant overhaul, or maybe it’s simply time for a little bit of tweaking. Either way, what better time than now?

A professional counselor or life coach can be of great help in completing this task!

Let me know if I can be of help.

Regards, Dana

<Disclaimer: Content of this blog is for information purposes only and not intended as therapy or medical advice.>