SETTING PRIORITIES
How to Set the Tone for a Year Aligned with Personal Values
Let’s make this the year we prioritize our personal values instead of making superficial goals. This will help us stay on track and not give up when the going gets tough. It’s worth taking some time to define what our personal values are and their importance to us. They can serve as a roadmap for decision-making and prioritizing the allocation of our time and energy. Knowing our priorities will help set the tone for the year.
I’m going to show you how to identify your personal values and why prioritizing them will bring more meaning to your life.
The past few years have felt pretty somber with all the heartache, loss, and unknowns encountered in the wake of the pandemic. We have learned some tough lessons. Some days seemed better, like some sense of normalcy was getting restored, but then, unexpectedly, another tragedy would happen.
These couple of years have challenged almost everyone in some way. One of the ways we cope with devastation is trying to find the reason for, meaning behind, and lessons learned from our experiences. During this pandemic, I finally realized what the most important things in my life truly were: personal values.
What are personal values?
Personal values are different for everyone. Your personal values ought to be very important to you. Not others, YOU! It is not about the things we think we should do, but things we know we should do because we feel good when we do them.
Personal values help form our personality, our character. When we are true to who we are and what is most important to us, things seem easier. Life goes smoother. We are more productive. We not only want to do the things that are important to us but we are also excited to do them. Our personal values help guide our decisions, and influence what we do, say, and think.
Personal values usually start developing during our childhood. Each of our cultures, experiences, religions, mentors, backgrounds, and environments play a certain role in this. Sometimes, the negative things that happen to us also influence our personal values—the latter can then help us decide what we do not want in our lives.
Personal values may also change as we age, meet new people, and have more complex encounters. Life’s lessons help us find our way, inspiring and motivating us to define our values through personal experiences.
Do you know what your personal values are? Asking yourself these questions can help. Quickly answer the following questions without overthinking them.
What things, people, and places could you not live without?
When are you the happiest? At that time, where are you? Who are you with?
What do you worry about the most? Does something keep you up at night? If so, why?
What do you want to change about yourself, others, and our world?
Which stories inspire and motivate you? What kind of movies do you watch? What type of people do you like to be around?
Write the answers down so you can refer to them later. If answering all of the above questions is too complex for you right now, try taking them on incrementally.
Another exercise that helps us define our personal values is to consider the words below. Of these, write down the words that jump off the page at you. Some aspects that others have listed as personal values include:
Success
Security
Career
Travel
Honesty
Wealth
Spirituality
Family
Health
Love
Religion
Safety
Friendship
Independence
Peace
Maybe nothing comes to you right away—that’s okay. Some of us take more time to mull these questions and/or words over. It is alright if nothing resonates with you at this moment, but don’t stop. Push yourself, if need be, to keep an open mind. You never know when you will have an “aha” moment.
It is not uncommon for personal values and beliefs to intertwine, also. As long as they help you stay true to the things that are important to you, make you feel happy, and bring meaning to your life, I would consider it a personal value.
Make personal values a priority.
The next step for you would be to work on aligning your personal values with your priorities. I have found that you are more likely to be successful if you can answer these three questions.
Are you clear on what your personal values are?
If they are important to you and you truly value them, you are more likely to follow through and not give up.
Are you confident that the personal values you selected are of utmost importance to you?
Do not allow others to convince you that making your personal values a priority is not worth it.
When you think of your personal values, are they so strong and embedded into your core that no one, no matter how hard they try, can change your mind about their significance? Staying true to knowing your personal values is always worth the effort, even if the nay-sayers in your life are distracting you.
Again, make a note of your answers. Our personal values can change, as mentioned earlier, too. If that happens, just go back and revise your answers to these questions with your new values in mind.
I believe we have the power to create what 2022 will look like for ourselves. By doing the exercises above, you are already setting your intentions in motion, which will set you up for success. We have to be ready for anything and everything. When more of us are prepared to fight back the negativity of the past few years with positivity, the stronger we will become (individually and as a community) to change the tone of what the next year will look like. Don’t give away your power. I have no doubt that you can prioritize your personal values this year.
Did you know?
According to www.forbes.com, virtually every study tells us that around 80% of the New Year’s resolutions get abandoned by the end of January/beginning of February.
Maybe we’ve been approaching resolutions all wrong all along? This time around, let’s try something different, something truly new, by aligning our priorities with our personal values. Let’s go into the new year with a new tone of determination and a nothing-can-stop-me attitude.
Health & Fitness Editor Dina Juve
Dina Juve
Health & Fitness Editor
Dina has been in health and fitness for over twenty years. Her health and wellness brand and methods utilize a mind, body, and soul approach to physical health, allowing her to help her clients create the bodies and lives they desire. Though based in California’s Central Valley, she is globally known as a fitness guru, transformation expert, weight loss specialist, and meditation teacher, and she has also worked with dozens of high-profile clients and celebrities across the world.
