VALUE YOUR VALUES!

“We all love you.. and you are crazy.. and…”

This is what a trusted friend told me a while back and I mistakenly agreed with her about me being crazy in the context of what she was sharing.

I could see where she was coming from and in her world where she valued security and conformity to feel connected with her “tribe”, I could see how she perceived me as the crazy one.

This label is not unfamiliar to me.

I’ve had people say it to me on and off for a lot of my life.

But I’m not crazy at all.

I just live by my highest values... and that's what I will share with every future person who calls me crazy :-).

One of my highest values is FREEDOM. Freedom to be myself, to follow the nudges of what I feel called to do and called to be.

In my life, those nudges have sometimes come hard and fast. I’ve travelled a lot. I’ve had more career changes than most. I’ve studied in depth in several different areas. My latest area of interest is the link between neuroscience and human behavior.

And I’m a passionate leadership coach – I feel like I won’t change career again, like my eagle has landed.. but I did consider a new profession in investigative journalism just last week when I felt defensive about WHO, having worked there for several years… but that’s another story for another day.

I’ve been watching The Last Dance. Have you seen it?

I didn’t realise that Jordan had a brief baseball career. He faced strong criticism for that move, but having learned of this brave move that he did, it’s the number 1 thing that I now admire him for.

He went from the worlds number 1 basketball player to an underperforming baseball player.

How brave is that?

Why on earth would he make such a move?

Because he VALUED following his heart. And his heart told him “baseball” despite what people were saying to him.

It takes A LOT of courage to be true to you.

It takes clarity to know your highest values.

It takes self-awareness to LIVE by your highest values.

Many people are unaware of their values and they definitely aren’t living by them.

I had always read about values and completed many ‘values’ exercises.. but I’m embarrassed to admit that I only TRULY got the value of values quite recently.

Someone sent me a beautiful motivational video this morning.

They said “it reminded me of you”.

I could clearly see why. The message in the video aligned with my highest values.

I felt proud when I watched it because I realized that I am living by my highest values.

Living by your values can feel scary. It can feel messy. It can look “crazy” from the outside.

But as long as you are being true to you, as long as you are operating from a place of love and kindness, a place of doing your best and humbly always trying to do better, I believe that you will look back with PRIDE on your death bed. That’s how I want to look back on my life.

In the words of Michael Jordan ““If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.”

Don’t listen to others. Don’t follow their advice because it will be based on THEIR values. What are YOUR values? What do YOU want in your life? What changes are you feeling the nudge to make but you have felt too afraid to make them?

I’d love to help you with that nudge.

Book in for a free, confidential, no obligations, 20-minute call with me and at the least, I will help you pay more attention to that nudge. At the most, it will be the start of me helping you to get on the other side of fear so you can follow that nudge, follow your heart and look back from your death bed with pride in yourself. Life is too precious not too.

With love,

Niamh x