By Eloise Skinner, a leading psychotherapist, author and founder of The Purpose Workshop and One Typical Day.
What are core values?
Core values could be defined as your fundamental principles or beliefs – the ideas that you hold (about yourself, the world, your identity, etc.) that are of most foundational importance to you. Many of us will have adopted core values based on expectations or assumptions from those around us (family, work, culture, tradition, etc.), but we can also define and adopt our own core values, enabling us to take ownership of our ideas and beliefs, and claim more responsibility within our own lives.
Why are core values important?
Core values are important for a huge variety of reasons: they enable us to understand ourselves and others on a deeper level; they guide and form our decision-making; they make complex situations appear clearer; they help us move through the world with more intention. In general, we could say that core values shape and define our lives, ensuring that the ideas and principles we find most important are also reflected within our day-to-day existence.
How can we identify our core values?
There are many ways to identify core values – therapy, conversations with friends / family, learning from challenging situations, self-reflection, etc. – but a simple way to get started is a ‘core values exercise’. This exercise can take just a few minutes and requires nothing but a piece of paper and a pen, or your notes app on your phone.
To begin, give yourself five minutes to write down all of the core values that are important to you. Remember that no idea is too small or irrelevant, so include everything that comes to mind. If you get stuck for ideas, think back to your earliest ambitions, passions and preferences to see if there are any enduring themes or ideas. You can also reflect on challenging situations you’ve previously navigated, as well as your strengths and key abilities.
Once you have your list of core values, see if you can distill them into a few key ideas – for example: ‘self-awareness’, ‘generosity’, and ‘community’. Then, write some notes about the ways in which you currently find these values to be fulfilled in your life, and perhaps some ideas on how you might be able to further develop these personal values in the future. You could apply your values to future goals you’d like to achieve, to see how they fit, or highlight values you’d like to experience in future relationships.
Once you have your findings, you could keep your notes somewhere visible, or refer back to them every month or so, adding new values and ideas where relevant. Ultimately, the process of understanding your core values and priorities is an identity-related task, and – as with any identity-related reflections! – you should expect it to change and adapt over the course of your life. Making this exercise a regular part of your self-development routine can help you to stay aligned with your current preferences, priorities and principles.
About the expert
Eloise Skinner is an author and psychotherapist, whose work specialises in existential therapy. Find out more about Eloise’s work at www.eloiseskinner.com
