The Energy Value of Finding Your Values
When last did you think about your values? The guiding principles or ideals that are really important to you? We all have them but for many of us, if someone were to put a gun to our head and ask us to list our top five values, we would struggle. I know this is something that I have often struggled with personally and professionally. I have always been able to identify when something does not fit with my core values but was never able to articulate what those core values are until recently.
We often think of values as abstract concepts that are sort of there in our subconscious and guide us in how we decide what to do. But they are so much more if we think about them intentionally. They can guide us on where to direct our physical and mental energy so we can thrive.
Values as Energy
Understanding your values and what you value in life helps you make better decisions about what you want to do and how you spend your energy, including who you spend your energy on.
At a professional level, knowing your values helps you to identify when an organisational culture is going to suit you, or a client is going to be the right fit. I recently started engaging with a client that wasn’t aligning with at least two of my core values. I could feel the tension and stress in my body. My sleep pattern was off. My mood had shifted. I was frustrated. The minute I let go of it and realigned to my values, I was back to thrival mode [I love this term from Katherine Morgan Schafler’s book The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control so have adopted it].
On a deeper personal level, it helps you lead a more fulfilling life if you can picture how those values play out in what you do. It leads to a better understanding of the choices we make, and what we should prioritise or optimise if we live by what matters to us. If you value family and you’re barely getting an hour a week to spend quality time with them (extreme example), then perhaps it’s time to think through a change of priorities. I value curiosity and so I try to surround myself with people who are curious too or who I can learn from. Nothing brings me greater energy than sharing ideas and knowledge.
Gaining clarity on your values allows you to give more energy to what matters to you, and less to what doesn’t work for you. As Morgan Schafler writes in The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control, “Taking time to clarify your value system is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself” (Morgan Schafler, 2023: p. 255). She also rightly points out that it energises you. It becomes a driving force for everything you do.
Find Your Values
If you haven’t checked in on your values in a while or have never given this some serious thought before, now is an opportunity to do so. So here is an exercise for you to do to gain clarity on your values.
At the link here is a list of values for you to pick your top five. You might only come up with three. It’s completely up to you. These are your values. The list isn’t exhaustive, and you might think of one or two that aren’t on the list. The importance of the exercise is to get to what really matters to you.
Once you have your values, it then helps to identify how this shows up in your life (professionally and personally). As Simon Sinek writes in Start with Why “For values and principles to be truly effective they have to be verbs…Articulating our values as verbs gives us a clear idea…we have a clear idea of how to act in any situation” (Sinek, 2009: p. 67). So, think of how you act out these values.
Your values might change over time and so it is important to check in on this now and then. A few years ago, I certainly wouldn’t have put contentment as a value on my list. It wasn’t something that I had in my life but now that I do have it, it is important to me, and I guard it closely. If something starts infringing on that value, then I check in on whether I am prioritising my energy correctly and start setting boundaries or whatever else is necessary.
This is why the values exercise is important. It helps you direct your energy to what matters most to you. If you know why you’re doing something, you can do more of what feels right and less of what feels wrong for you. You find more pleasure in life and less frustration and stress. It becomes easier to stick to habits, and goals, and thrive.
Align and Act on Your Values
Values are not just abstract concepts that have been there all our lives. They are the building blocks for how we can live and thrive. If we align our values to what we do with more intent and consistency, then we show up for ourselves and others with the energy we all deserve.
