This is the summary of a post by Marilyn Fitzpatrick in ClearerThinking.org
Values are our personal principles about what is good and right in the world and what is important to us. Research indicates that when our values motivate our actions, we are more likely to experience a well-formed sense of self, greater life satisfaction, and reduced psychological distress. Yet, we often get to a point in life when we realize that we've been ignoring this important consideration.
In order to reap the rewards of living according to our values, it is not enough to simply have values; you need to act on them regularly. If you value tradition, for example, then acting in line with the customs of your family and culture may well fit with your values and you will tend to feel good about doing so. Although most values-based actions will help you feel better, values that prioritize caring for others and for the world are noteworthy for their relationship with well-being. On the other hand, a large body of research shows that organizing your life around values related to money, image, and status is associated with less life satisfaction, and more psychological distress.
So how do you begin to understand and live according to your values?
1. Clarify (Your Values)
Most of us have the strong sense that we have good values, but at the same time, we experience difficulty articulating them. This first step of the process is about bringing our values into awareness. Different values are activated or brought to the forefront of awareness, in different contexts. For example, if someone asks you if you have a good pension plan, your value of security may be illuminated, but that does not necessarily mean that security is very important to you. Determining which values are important to you is a key step toward increasing intentional action. The clarification process needs not just to highlight values you endorse, but to help you rank them by importance so that the actions you plan address what is truly meaningful to you.
2. Assess (How Integrated Your Values Are)
Next you may want to evaluate what you are currently doing or what you have done in the past to integrate your values into your life. Values can be active in different domains in our lives, such as work, leisure, personal growth, or relationships. Perhaps you value adventure and experiential learning and you are taking adventurous vacations every year. In other words, that value is active in the leisure domain. On the other hand, maybe you don't exercise that same value in the professional domain, so perhaps you want to start thinking about how to take on a new challenge at work. Values can also be active at different times in our lives. For example, you may have been politically active at university around social justice causes. And although social justice is still an important value, you have stopped being politically active. This type of reflection offers an opportunity to notice this and consider it in your planning (step 3).
3. Plan (More Values-Based Actions)
Planning is the step that allows you to move toward action that is more deliberate, based on chosen values. Deliberate action will tend to increase consistency and the benefits that are realized when you live in line with your values. In this phase, it is important to create clear links in your own mind between what you value and what you want to do. As an example, someone who values the environment might volunteer to work for an organization dedicated to saving forests. Once you can envision actions, the path may be straightforward such as volunteering for an existing organization, or it might be more complicated. For example, you might want to start your own organization or social media account for a cause that moves you. For actions that will have many steps accomplished over time, you might need a planning process.
4. Motivate (The Actions You've Planned)
Once you've got some actions planned, you may need help to foster conditions that will motivate you to persevere in performing those actions. That is because values are not the only source of motivation for human beings. We are complex creatures, and, at any given moment, you can have two or more desires that compete for attention and action. Imagine you're trying to prepare for an important presentation at work and you receive a text inviting you out to a fun night out with friends. Motivation improves by increasing value, increasing expectancy, decreasing impulsiveness, and decreasing delay. I'll talk more about these next time!
Sidra
Online Psychologist & Clinical Social Worker
Lid van Therapiepsycholoog
Online
Values are our personal principles about what is good and right in the world and what is important to us. Research indicates that when our values motivate our actions, we are more likely to experience a well-formed sense of self, greater life satisfaction, and reduced psychological distress. Yet, we often get to a point in life when we realize that we've been ignoring this important consideration.
In order to reap the rewards of living according to our values, it is not enough to simply have values; you need to act on them regularly. If you value tradition, for example, then acting in line with the customs of your family and culture may well fit with your values and you will tend to feel good about doing so. Although most values-based actions will help you feel better, values that prioritize caring for others and for the world are noteworthy for their relationship with well-being. On the other hand, a large body of research shows that organizing your life around values related to money, image, and status is associated with less life satisfaction, and more psychological distress.
So how do you begin to understand and live according to your values?
1. Clarify (Your Values)
Most of us have the strong sense that we have good values, but at the same time, we experience difficulty articulating them. This first step of the process is about bringing our values into awareness. Different values are activated or brought to the forefront of awareness, in different contexts. For example, if someone asks you if you have a good pension plan, your value of security may be illuminated, but that does not necessarily mean that security is very important to you. Determining which values are important to you is a key step toward increasing intentional action. The clarification process needs not just to highlight values you endorse, but to help you rank them by importance so that the actions you plan address what is truly meaningful to you.
2. Assess (How Integrated Your Values Are)
Next you may want to evaluate what you are currently doing or what you have done in the past to integrate your values into your life. Values can be active in different domains in our lives, such as work, leisure, personal growth, or relationships. Perhaps you value adventure and experiential learning and you are taking adventurous vacations every year. In other words, that value is active in the leisure domain. On the other hand, maybe you don't exercise that same value in the professional domain, so perhaps you want to start thinking about how to take on a new challenge at work. Values can also be active at different times in our lives. For example, you may have been politically active at university around social justice causes. And although social justice is still an important value, you have stopped being politically active. This type of reflection offers an opportunity to notice this and consider it in your planning (step 3).
3. Plan (More Values-Based Actions)
Planning is the step that allows you to move toward action that is more deliberate, based on chosen values. Deliberate action will tend to increase consistency and the benefits that are realized when you live in line with your values. In this phase, it is important to create clear links in your own mind between what you value and what you want to do. As an example, someone who values the environment might volunteer to work for an organization dedicated to saving forests. Once you can envision actions, the path may be straightforward such as volunteering for an existing organization, or it might be more complicated. For example, you might want to start your own organization or social media account for a cause that moves you. For actions that will have many steps accomplished over time, you might need a planning process.
4. Motivate (The Actions You've Planned)
Once you've got some actions planned, you may need help to foster conditions that will motivate you to persevere in performing those actions. That is because values are not the only source of motivation for human beings. We are complex creatures, and, at any given moment, you can have two or more desires that compete for attention and action. Imagine you're trying to prepare for an important presentation at work and you receive a text inviting you out to a fun night out with friends. Motivation improves by increasing value, increasing expectancy, decreasing impulsiveness, and decreasing delay. I'll talk more about these next time!
Sidra
Online Psychologist & Clinical Social Worker
Lid van Therapiepsycholoog
Online
