We're going to talk about core values today. Not only do you need to understand why core values are important and what people use core values for, but also to understand how to develop those core values, how to determine which core values are best for you, and most importantly, how to identify which core values you most identify with.
Have you ever found yourself squandering a lot of time? This seems to be the case for majority of us, right? That's a rhetorical question because I'm sure all of us, as I have, have wasted a lot of time and energy on activities, people's jobs, and things that we shouldn't have even been focusing on, purely based on, you know, just not knowing, right? We didn't always realize we were wasting our time doing XYZ. But, in hindsight, when we look back and reflect, as a group, we figure out where our time went, and we identify what we put our time into. We discover that we shouldn't have spent our time on certain tasks in the first place. And many times, we discover, it was spent impressing the wrong crowd, trying to get the wrong job, partnering with the wrong people, whether that's relationships, business partnerships, associates, friends, whatever the case may be.
When we look back, we often find that trying to fit in, doing things that aren't aligned with our goals isn't where we want to spend a lot of our time, or should I say, a lot of our wasted time. So that's the entire point of today's post because all of that could be avoided simply by developing some personal core values, simply by having a set of values that we hold dear to our hearts in our purpose and passions and developing those core values around those things. It makes decisions so much easier to come to due to the fact you're on autopilot. I have been since I developed my core values.
Why Having Core Values Is Important
It's simple for me to make decisions because I know what my core values are. When you understand your core values, you will know who you should not align yourself with, who you should align yourself with, and what activities you should devote your energy to. Additionally, core values assists you in directing your behavior and attention. You begin to change your behavior based on your core values, especially the more you write them down, say it out loud, and the more you recite them, your mind and your subconscious begins to kick in. You're now moving on autopilot.
Core values also increases self-esteem. Your confidence will naturally grow as you gain a better understanding of yourself. It's comparable to an a business relationship. The link is obvious: knowing your role at a company boosts your confidence. When you know what you do helps people and you tell people that what you do helps people, you're simply being confident in how you present your work to them. However, when people ask what you do, and you don't know what role is in a dead-end job, you simply arrive, do your job, and then depart. This pattern makes it difficult explaining what you do. Again, when you know what you're doing is beneficial to yourself and others' futures, you gain confidence and find it easy to explain what you do.
Finally, you should establish some core values to assist you further in identifying your purpose, also compared to your why or life's work. As readers and listeners of The Million Dollar Mind Podcast: figuring out why we're here and what drives us has been a huge benefit. Helping us find the answers to questions like: Who am I doing this for? What motivates me to want these things for myself, my family, and future generations? And, the most critical, what vehicle will be best suited to get me there? So, I'm going to give you some gems, some fire, some gas, some heat, for identifying and structuring a group of core values. So you can now move with more passion, purpose, and, most importantly, intention. Here's the elite 6:
6 Ways to Develop Your Core Values
Take a careful look at this list of six things you can do right now to develop YOUR core values.
#1 Think About People You Admire
The first step is to consider people you admire. Consider some famous people or aspirational figures in your life that you admire. Do you have a hero? Do you admire their work ethic? Do you admire their mental fortitude and discipline? Do you admire how they always get up early? Do you admire their tenacity? Do you admire their generosity? Do you admire their sense of style? Do you like their smile? Do you like their confidence? Or how they interact with strangers? Do you admire their ability to network? What characteristics do you admire most in these influential people in your life? They will never cease to amaze you on a daily basis. Because that will undoubtedly make generating a list of values easier.
#2 Write Down Characteristics
Now you should be able to easily write down those characteristics you admire. That is exactly what you should be doing. What are some of those qualities? Is it self-motivated? Is it personal development? Is it discipline? Is there a strong work ethic present? Make a list of your values and make a note of them. Then, as you write down those values, think about some other values you internalize but haven't shared with others. Make a list of them. Unless you write it down, it's not real, pen to the paper is what begins the process of internalizing and becoming, because one of the most effective tools for physically manifesting what is stuck in your mind, is a pen. If you don't write it down, it will be more difficult to manifest. So friends, please take notes and be intentional with your pen.
#3 Consider Your Experiences
In the third step, consider your past experiences. When I say consider your experiences, I mean the good, the bad, and the ugly. Consider your best moments. And you don't want to forget the most difficult times. Because it is in the most painful moments that we grow the most from. To write down something that truly hurt us, we find the person we truly want to become from that experience, "I never want to hurt like that again." As a result, You do not want this to be a core value. Because it has the potential to be harmful behavior. But you do want to take that feeling to highlight a value that makes you better than the experience itself.
I want to you think about these difficult times just as much as you do about the good times, because it is critical to reflect on the actions that resulted in a sizable reward for you. How did you react to the prize? What was your reaction to the reward? How would you react if that happened again? What must you do to reclaim it? Who do you have to become in order to reclaim it? That could be a core value if you think about it. After that, you've probably got anywhere from 15 to 30 values written down on a piece of paper, which is a lot. It can be overwhelming, but I assure you that you will not be presented with a list of 30 core values. This is a great start however. And anyone who has ever written down SMART goals understands the value of specificity.
#4 Group Values by Relativity
So now we need to narrow down that list. And one way to narrow down that list is to group some of the values by relativity. What are some values that may be related to one another? I would classify reading, education, and personal development as relativities. Money, generational wealth, and time freedom are all things I'd like to group by relativity. What about others? Like discipline and getting up early? Others probably wouldn't consider those, but I personally would group them in by relativity, you get the idea.
#5 Identify a Recurring Theme; Make it Relative
Grouping your values by relativity, is necessary as it will help you get to the next step, which is identifying a recurring theme that makes these things relative. Because that's what you'll call that set of values once you've determined that word. So I'd call the group with reading, personal development and "YouTube University" education, the education or mental stimulation group. Now if it's generational wealth, money, and time freedom, I'll name that group Finances or Financial Freedom, you get the idea.
Once you've grouped them based on relativity, and have named that group with a word close to your personal experiences backed by emotion, you are starting to reduce your list. Keep in mind that some of you may have values that cannot be group by relativity, some of them can be considered standalone values. Either way, grouping your values reduces the list from 15 to 30 to around eight to ten. Simply by grouping them together. You now have between eight and ten values on your paper.
#6 What Can You NOT Get Rid Of?
This brings us to the final step, which is to identify your top values. What are the values you simply cannot live without? In other words, looking are your list, what are some of you having trouble getting rid of? And the best way to visualize this is to look at the list and ask yourself, "Would I be okay if this didn't exist in my life?" It has a high value when the answer is no. The goal is to reduce the list to four to six values. If you can narrow it down to four to six core values, you have a very specific list. And that is specific enough that you will begin to move accordingly wherever you write it down, recite it, or tell people about your core values. You want to become much more intentional, because then your decisions will be made much easier. And your life will be easier because you'll know who to support and what activities to prioritize. My core values, as I mentioned earlier in season three, were, and still is the "EFFF it system," which is what I call my core values. And it's education, family, fitness, and finance. I have internalized my "EFFF it System" because it has literally allowed me to say "F it" to the tasks and activities people have asked of me that do not align with those values.
Education, like my family, will always be at the top of my priority list. My fitness is more of an umbrella term I use for everything fitness, whether it's mental fitness, health, or wellness. And, of course, finances and money is essential, because I have a strong desire to assist others. But I can't help if I can't help myself financially. Money does not solve problems; it simply makes them easier to solve. Never believe anyone who claims that money cannot solve problems. Having money allows you to help others while keeping your mind clear. It will be more difficult to assist others if you do not have money for yourself. You can say whatever you want.
"If you don't establish your core values, you're only hurting yourself at this point".
Andrew Keen
Don't confuse instant gratification or pleasure with Passion. If you go to a club everyday and party, you'll eventually say, "I don't even feel like clubbing today". A passion is something you can wake up and do over and over again and again without getting tired of it. Stop thinking that we can't be both predictable and spontaneous. Your life can be entirely predictable. Yet allow you to incorporate spontaneity into a predictably intentional life. Some of us worry about being unpredictable and spontaneous, but we make our lives horribly predictable. An example would be going with the flow, not budgeting, not having a morning routine, and spending money irresponsibly.
You can imagine how deep the waters could get if you were to continue this behavior consistently.
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