Living My Core Values

I have talked about determining what your core values are, but I haven’t really talked about how I apply my core values to my everyday life. I’ve been working really well to be intentional in living into my core values and I’d like to share with you some of what I’ve been doing.

To get us started, I want to share my list of core values. They are:

1. I am honest

2. I am courageous and authentic

3. I act with integrity

4. I am committed to growth and learning

5. I choose positivity

6. I am compassionate and empathetic

7. I am a good communicator

These are my core values that drive all values by which I live. And as I’m writing this, I’m realizing I haven’t listed out all of my values, just the core ones. I don’t think I have because all of the research and learning I’ve done in regards to values focuses on core values rather than on all values that a person might live by. I really think they all go hand-in-hand and now I realize I have more work to do. But I digress.

One thing I realized I’ve done in the past was to establish my core values, write them down, and then go about life. I didn’t think about them again unless I happened upon the list I wrote. Then I kinda forget what I had established. Not this time. This time I meditated on my list to determine what was most important to me and wrote it down in Google Keep where I can access them anywhere. Then I created daily reminders in my calendar. These reminders are set in a specific order and at specific times and yes, I get notifications on my phone for every single one. I have each value set at a different time rather than the whole list together. Some days I just mark the reminder done without really paying attention to what it was for. I did this a lot when I first created the reminders. Then I became more intentional and started reading them. Not only have I been reading them, but I’ve been asking myself how I can apply them that day.

There have been quite a few recent instances in my day-to-day life that reminding myself that I want to operate honestly and with integrity has been critical to how I respond that day. I’ve experienced situations with work, with friends, and with family that I have thought through before reacting because I have reminded myself of my core values. I believe doing this has helped to put myself in a better position than if I had solely reacted from emotion, which I tend to do without thinking. 

I’ve been more intentional with reading the reminder and feeling what it feels like to honor that value. It’s weird, but there is a calming feeling that comes over me when I do this. I can’t explain it at all, but it’s a good feeling, so I roll with it. 

Being closer to my core values is important to who I am as a person and how I go through life. I do not live the way I wish to when I ignore my values. I fall into bad habits and situations that I am trying to leave behind. Reminding myself of my core values every day reminds me of the person I am becoming. It reminds me of my goals and of the life I want to live. I know that when I don’t focus on my values every single day, I don’t live up to them. 

I know you are probably thinking, we shouldn’t have to focus on our values, we should just live up to them, because that is how I’ve operated most of my life. Let me tell you, that didn’t work for me. It’s easier to live the way I’ve been living for so long if I don’t focus on the life I want to create for myself. It’s just like sitting here writing this. I could have brushed it off that meh, I’ll get to my next post some day, but no, I’m sitting her writing it. Why? Because I have goals and a future version of myself that doesn’t half ass shit. 

Living up to my core values means I must be intentional. Sure, there are days that I won’t be, that is normal. But to be the woman I want to be, I must remind myself who I want to be and the values by which I want to live every single day. 

Now I want to ask you, how do you live through your core values? Have you taken the time to establish them? If not, why not? I challenge you to be more intentional with your values in a way that works for you. If you live through your core values, how do you do it? Any tips you’d like to share?