What are your real values? Here's a life hack to find them out

Everyone knows themselves. I mean, you've lived with yourself for life... so by now you should know your Ins and Outs, right? Well, NO. That's actually wrong. Most of us have two versions of ourselves: 1)What we want the world to see us as 2)What we truly are

And that is totally normal, so relax. Whether the skew between the two is massive or just a little leap, it still exists in everyone. Here is a 10 minute exercise to help find your gaps, giving you a starting point to realigning towards your true values and living a life spent satisfying your deeper purpose (getting all Guru on ya!). Spending your days unaligned, even in the slightest, is like walking everyday with a pebble in your shoe. You feel like something small just isn't right but it's an annoyance you can seem to shake out.

Want to be guided via power point instead? Click here

Step 1:

Write down a list of 10 values that best represent you.

• What are 10 values that best represent you?

You have 5 mins.

Ex. from me: Humor, Drive, Kindness, Honesty, Curiosity...

Step 2:

Organize those 10 values from most representative of you to least.

• What values are truly YOU?

You have 3 mins.

Ex. from me: 1-Humor, 2-Curiosity, 3-Kindness

Step 3:

Hold on to that list, but you won't need at this moment.

SO, you are having a dinner party and only can invite 3 people. They can be real or fictional, alive or dead. Anyone from history, books, Disney, etc.

• Who do you invite?

Ex. from me: Will Ferrell, Leonardo da Vinci, Jesus Christ

You have 5 mins to respond with Who+Why.

If you have not written anything at this point, you will lose the magic of the exercise. Dedicate a few minutes to following the steps mentioned. Keep going if otherwise!

Step 4:

a) Pull out your ordered top 10 list and look at your top 3 values.

These values are your Aspired Values: what you want the world to see you as

b) Now look at your 3 invitees for the dinner party.

These characters represent your top 3 true values: what you truly live by

c) Compare the top 3 values with your 3 invitees.

Is the reason you picked each represented in your Aspired values? Are you aligned in how you want the world to see you and what truly matters to you?

d) Write down your thoughts to each.

Look for the inconsistencies and ask yourself why?

Additional Tips:

Share your results with others to get additional perspectives. You will often run into your own blind spots. The opinion of another can help you get to the deeper reasoning behind your results.

This exercise works best in groups of 3-5. Friends, Classmates, Strangers: see what you kind learn!

Final Thoughts:

In this simple process, I hope you gained insight into the values that determine your decision-making. I found the tool a great aid to my own self-discovery, allowing me to understand my own thought process, dive into defining my own beliefs, as well as giving me the capability to analyze what makes me... Me.

Enjoy!

Credits:

During my time in Spain with UCAM (Murcia), I had the pleasure of learning this exercise from a professor. All credit goes to his leadership and experience.