Values

We all have primary values but we seldom pay them any attention.  We have values in all areas,  Career, Relationship, Family, Fitness, Personal Growth, Spirituality, etc…  If you are not feeling good in any area of your life then it will more than likely be due to your values in that area not being met. Knowing your values, and their relative importance, is key to a happy and a healthy life.

Let’s take a look at job Values and let’s say for instance that your top 3 values in a job are, 1.  Progression, 2. Challenge and 3. Variety.  Now if your current job meets these top three values then you will be contented and fulfilled in your job, however if for instance there is no room for progression, you know the job in side out so there is no challenge and you do pretty much the same routine every day, so there is no variety, then you will find that you will not be happy in your job.  It is important to live by your values, as they are the core of who you are – and who you want to be.

In NLP we usually work with the top 8 Values, I have coached many clients who come to see me due to a feeling of being stuck or discontented and once we get to work on their Values, they are quickly able to see why they feel this way and they are then able to see what they need to do in order to rectify this.

If you feel that there is something wrong in any area of your life then start by looking into your values in this area.  List your top 8 Values, take your time on this, and juggle them around until you are 100% they are in order of importance, 1 being the top most important value.  To help ensure they are in the correct order ask yourself,  “If I could have number 1 but not have number 2 would that be ok”.   If the answer is yes, then you have that value in the correct position, but if the answer is no, then swap them around. Carry on asking questions accordingly, i.e. if I could have number 1, but not number 3, would that be ok? Then repeat with number 2 and follow through until that value has been compared to all the values below it. Then do the same with value number 3 and so on until you have completed all eight.

By doing this you will know for sure that your Values are in line of importance and then you can measure them against the area you are working on by either ticking or crossing.   If your top 4 values are ticked then you will be pretty much aligned and you may just need to make some smaller changes to get the lower values met, however if the top 4 values are crossed then this will signify that you need to make changes in order to be content.

By becoming more aware of the values in all areas of your life, will enable you to use them as a guide to make the best choice in any situation.