What are your values? Let’s start by defining values. According to the Oxford dictionary, : “a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life.” Need some examples of values? No problem. One of my favorite authors, Brene Brown published an extensive list with her book Dare To Lead.
Can you narrow down your top five? I challenge you to look at the list, right now. Go ahead and download the .pdf. Choose ONLY FIVE! You may have to start with 10 and then narrow them down. Write them down on the post-it note or make a note of it on your phone. Go ahead, I’m content to wait for you.
Here are my top five today in order.
Freedom
Growth
Sincerity
Privacy
Curiosity
I've shared mine...I'd love to hear what you've come up with. Leave a comment below or send me a message at monica@coaching-freedom.com.
There’s been a lot of talk about value alignment lately. Most recently the topic came up in a group of coaches who had left the corporate or non-profit world to pursue the dream of serving their clients in ways that will make an impact. They also want to show up in their truest selves of expression.
I’ve heard so many people recently discuss how their employers’ values don’t align with their personal values. Someone used the phrase “a disconnect between head and heart” when describing how someone really wants to show up vs. how they feel they “have” to show up in their work. What could this look like? It could look like you continue doing the same work repeatedly in an environment that is not conducive to what your heart needs to thrive.
Need another example? I recently was riding in a family member’s vehicle. There were a couple of features in the car that needed repair. I offered to take the car in to have those items fixed and to have the car detailed. The family member insisted that they were the only ones who drove the car and that those were small things to repair and that none of that was urgent. The thing is, to me, they had been broken for years. This stuff drives me bonkers! I love and care for my family member and I want them to have the best (not necessarily newest) operational vehicle. And yet, this was not about me. They weren’t asking for my help, and they didn’t feel a sense of urgency to fix the issues. I stepped all over their values by pushing harder to get it done. Later, I realized what I had done and had a heart-to-heart apologizing, expressing my intentions and then letting them make the ultimate decision.
What are you doing to live in alignment with your values when it comes to your work? Do you believe in the mission? How do you know when your values are out of alignment? What do you do once you identify that your values are no longer aligned with what you are doing? We talk about values a lot in coaching because our values direct and inspire our behaviors and what we make important to us. In financial coaching, "some" people value connection and will do anything to keep or get that. How does that impact the budget? A lot of connection involves food, whether it be hosting people for a meal or meeting them for a night out on the town.
If you can identify your top five values you're more likely to be aware of your spending, savings and giving habits and how they align. If you're not sure your values align with your current habits or behaviors or if you can see that they definitely don't, let’s talk.