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Understanding and Identifying Your Core Values – a 5 Step method

Core values are those guiding principles that shape our beliefs, they influence our decisions, and most importantly drive our actions across various aspects of our life. They serve as an internal compass, helping us navigate the world and our relationships. Identifying your core values is essential for living a purposeful and fulfilling life. In this post, I'll explore the importance of values, why they matter, and provide a step-by-step guide on how to identify your own.




Why Core Values Matter

  • Personal Fulfillment: Aligning your life with your core values brings peace and satisfaction, creating a profound sense of fulfillment.

  • Decision-Making: Values act as a framework for making choices, simplifying complex decisions by highlighting what's most important to you.

  • Relationships: Understanding your own values and recognizing those in others can strengthen your interpersonal connections, leading to more meaningful relationships.

  • Goal Setting: When goals are set based on your values, they resonate more deeply, motivating you to pursue and achieve them.


Step 1: Reflect Through Self-Reflection

Self-reflection is a powerful tool for understanding what truly matters to you:

  • Childhood Influences: Reflect on significant childhood experiences and how they shaped your views.

  • Difficult Decisions: Analyze tough choices you've made to identify the values that guided your decisions.

  • Peak Experiences: Consider times when you felt most alive or fulfilled to see your values in action.

  • Challenges: Think about when you felt angry or upset, and identify the values that were challenged.

  • Meaningful Work: Reflect on fulfilling roles you've held and what made them meaningful.


Step 2: Engage in Self-Coaching

Use these questions to coach yourself or to discuss with a friend or coach:

  • What is fundamentally important to me?

  • What will I never compromise on?

  • Who do I admire and why?

  • What frustrates or upsets me?

  • What energizes me?

  • How do I want to be remembered?

  • What would my ideal life look like if there were no barriers?


Step 3: Conduct a Values Sorting Exercise

Use online resources to help sort and prioritize your values:

Step 4: Get Feedback

Gather insights from others you love and trust and who know you well to see how your self-perception aligns with how others see you. Ask them the following questions:

  • What energizes me most?

  • What frustrates or upsets me?

  • Can you list what you think are my core values?


Step 5: Write and Refine Your Personal Values Statement

A personal value statement is a written statement that articulates your core values and beliefs. It serves as a compass, guiding you in making choices aligned with what truly matters to you. By identifying your values, you gain clarity about what is most important in your life and can align your actions accordingly

Document your top values in a personal values statement:

  • Define Each Value: Write informal definitions for each of your top 10 values.

  • Draft a Statement: Craft a 200-250 word statement in your preferred style, integrating at least your top 5 values.

  • Revise and Adapt: Update your statement as you grow and as your understanding deepens or shifts.




Identifying and articulating your core values is not just an exercise in self-awareness—it's a continuous process that enhances how you live, work, and connect with others. As your life evolves, so might your values, requiring occasional reassessment to ensure they still represent who you are and aspire to be.

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