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Values to Life
Why it matters?
Values are what drive our thoughts, beliefs and actions. They determine what we prioritize, how we live our lives, how we show up to new situations, and how we shape our identity in a world of infinite choices. In this way, they act as a gauge to check our sense of integrity when operating in the world. Though rooted in our upbringing, they are ever changing in both broad and nuanced ways as we are faced with ever more complex situations in which they are tested. You may have spent considerable time thinking about your values and listing them; be them personal or professional.
Or aligning your values with that of an employer or community that you will need to dedicate time and effort to. Ensuring these values are not just stagnant billboards on a wall or virtue signals, it’s helpful to bring them to life through image, mood and story so that they can be a robust filtering system of how you prioritize your time and efforts.
To bring them to life we borrow from the design thinking toolkit and imagine those values as phases in a user journey (yours!).
How it works?
- List between 5-8 core values at the top of your journey map.
- On the left column, list the following key life approaches: getting healthy, building wealth, cultivating relationships, stimulating growth, facing fears, pursuing your dream(s), making a contribution.
- Fill in the map through a series of real-life examples of how you live and breathe your values across these key approaches.
- Get creative: sometimes they may seem incongruent (ie. Compassion & Building Wealth - but maybe you have an example of giving to charity).
- This Values Map then becomes the ultimate snapshot of your existing best behavior and stories. Next: notice where there might be any gaps AND ask yourself “how could I supercharge the way I show up here with my values?”
Examples
Bring your values to life through real examples so that they can better support your decision making.
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