Articulate Your Guiding Values

Would you like to rise to a higher level of leadership and be more impactful, but you haven't articulated your guiding values?

Then keep reading because today you'll understand how vital it is to identify your guiding values. And by values I mean the priorities and beliefs that are most significant to you.

This is important because if you are not living by your own values, you could be living someone else's values or maybe you are struggling to find clear direction. And living in alignment with your values is essential to achieve your goals and aspirations, and be the best version of yourself.

As Joseph Campbell said, "Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer."

Allow me to share my guiding values with you today. Expressing my values in this way is something I learned from leadership expert Robin Sharma.

1) Personal Mastery: Investing in myself spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically to  be my most exceptional self and live at my highest level of health and performance.

2) Family & Community: Prioritizing and being supportive of my family, team, clients, friends and my community. Creating containers of support and giving generously.

3) Impact: Serving my community with my talents, knowledge and experience in a way that is sincere, authentic and true to myself; sharing generously to help lift consciousness in the world.

4) Abundance: Trusting that the Universe is abundant. Living a comfortable and abundant life in order to be more creative, my most exceptional self and of greatest service.

5) Craftsmanship/Beauty:  Prioritizing order, focus, depth and elevating my craftsmanship. Embracing spirituality, art, music, books, culture, travel, nature and the magnificence of life and to be continually learning, awe-struck and inspired.

And having these guiding principles impacts my daily choices. For example, every morning starts with a daily mindset practice and physical exercise because personal mastery is a guiding value. The more grounded I am in myself and in leading myself effectively, the better I am able to live into my guiding principles, be of service to others and achieve my goals.

What are your guilding principles?

To get started, ask yourself two questions: what's most important to you? what do you care about most? Examples of values include: family, relationships, security, wealth, equality, freedom, personal growth, spirituality, health, leadership.

Make a list of as many values as you can think of that are meaningful to you. The next step is to narrow the list to the five most important. Then, give each value some context in a short sentence or two so that you are clear about what each value means to you.

Finally, keep your list close by so you are reminded daily of your guiding values.

Articulating your guiding values will help you with:


 
1. Navigating your career and life with clarity and direction. Guiding values gives help you to set meaningful goals that are in alignment with what's most important to you.


 
2. Developing resilience and perseverance. When you face challenges or obstacles, your guiding values give you the strength and determination to persist and stay true to yourself.


 
3. Experiencing higher levels of fulfillment and meaning. When you work and live in alignment with your guiding values, you will live with greater purpose.
 
As Robert Byrne said, "The purpose of life is the life of purpose."
 
Take the time to identify and articulate your own guiding values. It is one of the most important investments you can make in knowing and honoring yourself and your life.