PERSONAL CORE VALUES MAKE US WHO WE ARE

Clear and identified personal core values are a standard that we hold ourselves up to. They’re how we weigh our decisions. They keep us accountable. And if we stop living in alignment with our core values, the symptoms are usually confusion, self-doubt, regret, shame, among others. What I’ve learned is that if we want to be confident in every decision we make, then we have to make sure that every decision is in line with our core values.

Desmond Doss served in the United States Army in World War Two. As a Conscientious Objector, he refused to carry a gun or take another man’s life, but felt it was his duty to serve and support his country. He was soon assigned to an Infantry Company and found himself ostracized and scolded by the other soldiers of that unit who saw him as a liability for his refusal to bear arms. There were multiple attempts to have him removed from the unit, including a failed Court Martial for refusing to follow a direct order – to carry a rifle.

On May 5th, 1945, Desmond’s unit was trying to take the Maida Escarpment, a rock face that the soldiers called Hacksaw Ridge. The Japanese soldiers were fierce in defending the last defense they had against an allied invasion. ?In a particularly vicious surprise attack from the Japanese the American soldiers were forced to retreat, but not even a third made it back down to the bottom of the cliff. Desmond remained at the top with the rest of the men who laid wounded and left for dead on enemy territory. He disobeyed orders to retreat and went under enemy fire to rescue as many men as he could, one by one, lowering them back down to safety. Desmond Doss saved at least 75 lives that day and became the first Conscientious Objector to receive the Medal of Honor for his unwavering courage.

Desmond knew his core values. His standard of right and wrong guided his decisions in insurmountable odds, winning the respect of men who had previously hated him but who now saw his value. Without clear personal core values, we are easily swayed by the opinions of any crowd that shouts the loudest or seems the most convincing with their flattering words and promises of an easier way. But by following the crowd we lose our identity.

Two core values that I try to live by, though imperfectly, are “Sua Sponte”, Latin for “of one’s own accord”, or to do the right thing without having to be asked or instructed; and “Always willing to be little”, taken from the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson on humility, “A great man is always willing to be little.” If I am always trying to do the right thing, I don’t have to worry if I am doing the wrong thing, and if I am always striving to be humble then my ego should remain in check, and I can remain teachable.

Practical application: Think about how you want to be remembered by those who know you. Write down the nouns you hope they would use to describe you as a person and turn those nouns into actionable phrases, for example, if you want to be known for having integrity, “Sua sponte!” These phrases are your core values. Let these core values guide you into the kind of person you want to be.