Create Your Own Values

Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work. They (should) determine your priorities, and, deep down, they're probably the measures you use to tell if your life is turning out the way you want it to.

First, what is a “value” anyway?

Values “are the principles that give our lives meaning and allow us to persevere through adversity,” according to psychologist Barb Markway and Celia Ampel in The Self Confidence Workbook Workbook. I love both parts of this definition—that values stand for our most meaningful ideals and also that they inspire us to keep going when the going gets tough. 

You’ve probably learned many of your values from your parents, your teachers, your religious leaders, and the society around you.

You’ve also probably rebelled against some of those values at times or changed your mind as you’ve learned more about yourself and your world.

But it can be helpful to decide—or re-decide—the top six to eight values that mean the most to you right now and to have a shorthand label for those principles. 

That something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. “your support is of great

value"synonyms:merit, worth, usefulness, use, utility, practicality, advantage, desirability, benefit, gain, profit, good, service, help, helpfulness, assistance, effectiveness, efficacy, avail, importance, significance, point, sense; informal mileage"the value of adequate preparation cannot be understated"

A person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life."they internalize their parents' rules and values"synonyms:principles, moral principles, ethics, moral code, morals, moral values, standards, moral standards, code of behavior, rules of conduct, standards of behavior “society’s values are passed on to us as children"/ 

Considering meaning dealing with ethics and morals. My ethical standard is the very character and nature of God. Even though it is possible to make up my own set of values, that would be a very bad plan. To maximize your social well being, seek out the attributes of God and simply comply.

Yes, any value you have at one point or another, you have chosen them. The only problem is that it is extremely difficult for anyone to make it 100% yours due to the influence of others such as your parents, friends, relatives, enemies, spouses, coworkers, or a guy you talked to one time with strong opinions.

 I actively evaluate my own values and no where near half are 100% mine, and I cant even say one value is originally mine for certainty. Despite that all the values I uphold are mine because I picked them.

 So it boils down to witch one you value more, the morality of a value, or the possession those ethics, or if the values are inconsequential so long as it comes from some one who you value more then everyone else, or if what is the universal code of ethics that we should uphold.

There is alot more but I'm lazy and ethics or values is a deeply philosophical topic that WILL take a life time to understand and decipher what is truly ethical and what's immoral.

Personal perceptions, personal impressions, personal opinions, personal values cause earthly reality to come to exist as one big uncertain phenomena____whereby no one will ever truly know “what is this earthly reality?”

Absolute values require an Absolute, Universal, Everlasting truth criteria basis. Earthly reality holds a hodge-podge of values serving only the few whose values they hold.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensue discussion or debate. 

Thank you …I’ve noticed that individuals experience greater fulfillment when they live by their values.

And when we don’t honor our values, our mental, emotional, and physical state suffers. I’ve seen this to be true in my life too.

Values are a part of us. They highlight what we stand for. They can represent our unique, individual essence.

Values guide our behavior, providing us with a personal code of conduct.

When we honor our personal core values consistently, we experience fulfillment.

When we don’t, we are incongruent and are more likely to escape into bad habits and regress into childish behavior to uplift ourselves.

Your values are a major determinant of career choice, work decisions, and career transitions. For example, you may value “financial security,” “helping,” or “being my own boss (autonomy).” 

Each of those values might lead you down a different career path. That’s why career counselors have a large toolbox of strategies and inventories (self-report tests with no right answers) including values inventories to help match their clients to a compatible career area.

Want to add word or two? 

If you’ve ever found it extra hard to concentrate or make decisions when under stress, you realize what many psychology studies have shown—stress impairs problem-solving ability. But there is a satisfying solution! And yes, it involves your values.are as separate from one another as night and day.

Your comment ….? 

A study by researcher David Creswell and his associates found that college students experiencing high stress were better able to figure out a creative problem-solving task under time pressure if they first wrote a few sentences about their most important values. 

 When they identified and focused on their significant values, they were able to solve as many problems as students in a low-stress group. 

Knowing—and writing about—significant values turned out to be a protective factor against the harmful effects of excessive stress.  

When I've been faced with a difficult decision, I find that searching for the values underlying a particular choice can help me choose a path forward. I may not like the result of my decision, but at least I know why I made the choice, and focusing on my valued reasons counteracts regret and self-blame. 

Values can rev up your willpower so you can persist at difficult tasks.

Many people discount “willpower” as a vague, difficult, and ineffective method of change. This point of view overlooks the power behind willpower—your values. 

Willpower means “using the thought of your most important values and goals to guide your behavior.”

 To activate your willpower, you must remind yourself why it's important for you to do something. 

While willpower alone may not be enough to change a behavior, your motivation for change must start with willpower--knowing your values. (Of course, you will also need backup strategies to keep you going when willpower is not enough

Bring up your values in conversation. For example, you might say, “I’m a person who believes in courtesy.” Or, “loyalty is important to me.” 

Towards the end of a particular day, compare your list of core values with how you actually acted.

If one of your core values is “kindness,” were there times during the day when you were kind?

If you believe in “self-respect,” did you stand up for yourself today?

Of course, sometimes situations catch us off-guard. If you are unhappy with your actions, decide how you could better react the next time. And cut yourself some slack!

 No one is perfect.