Have you ever been in a situation where you've had to make a really important decision in life or in business that you didn't know what to do? In this article, I'm going to share with you a key concept around core values and how to get clearer on yours so you can make better quality decisions to live more authentically and in alignment with your life and manifest your goals.

Core Values: What Are They?

Today, I want to share with you the concept around core values and why this is so important.

First of all, what are core values? Core values are simply the essence—the truest expression of who you really are. They define how you behave, your character, and how you make your decisions in life. The problem is that most people are unaware of what their core values are. They've defaulted on their core values and sacrificed them in order to attend to other people's agendas and values. Sometimes it can be a bit of a difficult process to figure out what your core values are again.

But I want to invite you to have a progressive mindset around this. Be on a journey of progress rather than just trying to lock them in immediately. Allow yourself to go on a self-discovery adventure.

Core Values: Your Personal GPS

Core values are a bit like a GPS in your car. They are your North Star, acting as your guidance system and your operating system for how you make your best decisions and choose the direction in your life. Knowing what your core values are and living true to them will make life a lot more wonderful for you.

Decide And Define Your Core Values

So, how do you define your core values? At a high level, which is what I want to introduce you to today, you need to first decide what they are. Your top three to five core values. Going beyond that is going to be a little bit overwhelming. You'll have lots of values in your life, but there are core values in your operating system that will help you make your best decisions each day.

For example, love is my highest core value. For me, that is a really important value to operate from.

The next step is to define. You want to define the core value as something that's true for you, not according to what someone else thinks it is or how they value it. This is a really important part of the process so that you're not adopting someone else's rules around what that value means. Being really clear about what it means for you.

Testing Your Core Values

Now, the third step is to test it. This is where people come a little bit unstuck, because there's a lot of core values that a lot of people like on paper, but the question is, are you truly living it authentically?

Question 1: Monetary Sacrifice

Is there any amount of money that you would sacrifice your core value for? For example, health is another core value of mine, and if you were willing to sacrifice your health for an amount of money, you might give it up.

Question 2: Stress Test

Are you living the core value even in a state of stress? If you are sacrificing that and you're not living in alignment with that under stress, because, like an orange or a lemon, when you squeeze it, the juice comes out.

Question 3: Future Self

Do you envision yourself still holding this as a true core value for yourself in 25, 30, 40, or 50 years down the track?

Question 4: Competitive Disadvantage

Would you sacrifice your core value even if it gave you a competitive disadvantage? For example, integrity and honesty are core values for me. There are a lot of people, particularly in business, who might do or say something different outside of their normal way of operating in order to take money or get power, a promotion, or status. That is a hard line "No!" for me. Your core values will also help you define your boundaries. 

Conclusion

It just doesn't serve anyone to be out of alignment. I want to encourage you to look at your own values, testing them. First of all, decide what they are, define them, and then test them with those four questions. Those questions will help you choose your core values, or rather, reveal them to you. This will help you make better-quality decisions with better outcomes and results.

If you haven't yet gotten my free 33-page workbook, "Setting Your Intentions: Clarify Your Goals And Create Your Best Year Yet!," make sure you grab yourself a copy now. The link is down below so click that and I'll send it to you straight away. 

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