What values mean, and why you need 10 of them
Use my personal value statement as a template for your own
Image: Magda Ehlers | Pexels
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Two books down in my #25BookChallenge! (Read all about this goal here.)
The first one, Serve: Business from the Heart—The Shoppers Stop Way by BS Nagesh (get the book here), offers a behind-the-scenes peek at one of India’s biggest department stores through the eyes of its former CEO. I’ve devoted a separate blog post to how the brand has tackled several challenges in the retail industry; read it here.
The second one, Rescript Your Life: Awaken the Voice Within You by Reeta Gupta (get the book here), teaches you how to break free from conditioning and negative self-talk to become a more confident and focused person.
Despite their differences, both books emphasise a common exercise: documenting your values.
Seeing this message appear twice felt like a sign. So, I sat down, reflected on my values, and put them on paper.
What do you mean by values? And why should you define yours?
For the uninitiated, values are the principles that determine your behaviour and decisions. They convey what truly matters to you. In short, they are what you value in life.
So many people settle in life, passively accepting whatever comes their way. But values help you take charge and live a life by design. They help you find out your priorities and guide you to do the right thing in various situations. Imagine if people chose their careers based on what truly mattered to them instead of societal expectations—there wouldn’t be so many discontented professionals living paycheque to paycheque.
The 5 key benefits of defining your values
Skipping this exercise of elaborating on your values means missing out on these powerful benefits—and running the risk of feeling lost in life:
Values allow you to gain clarity on your priorities
They aid and speed up decision-making and reduce stress by simplifying choices
They ensure strength and consistency of character and, thus, build trust and credibility with the people around you
They help attract the right people and opportunities, including jobs, business associates, and relationships
They let you solve problems faster
My personal value statement
After much deliberation, especially on my journey over the past two years, I came up with a list of 10 values. Here they are, in the perfect order:
Value 1: Alignment with my life purpose
Having discovered my mission, I commit to staying aligned with my soul’s path—even if it means, as Krishna advised Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, refusing to conform to societal standards and expectations, keeping my emotions in check, maintaining razor-sharp focus, tuning out everything else, and embracing the uniqueness of my journey.
Value 2: Faith in a higher power
Recognising my limitations as a worldly being, I connect myself to the source of infinite intelligence and surrender various matters and decisions—big or small—to this entity. Time and again, I communicate and express myself to this power and express my gratitude to it. I remain open to signs, synchronicities, and other forms of divine guidance. I trust that everything happens in divine timing and that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be right now.
Value 3: Inner work
Having witnessed how our minds shape our reality, I see the importance of having the right thoughts and beliefs on various matters and prioritising personal growth. I constantly endeavour to reprogramme my mind by consuming empowering literature, be it on financial literacy, wealth-building, emotional intelligence, or spirituality, especially by people who have already achieved what I aspire to do. I understand that gaining knowledge of universal laws this way is education of the truest kind—a lifelong process instead of something that concludes with formal schooling. Besides, the only thing I can control when I cannot control anything else is myself.
Value 4: Intuition over logic
I get that the logical mind is a product of our conditioning and is, hence, flawed and not always right. That’s why I rely on my innate intelligence for advice and guidance in various situations, as it can see the bigger picture. My logical mind’s role is to step back and allow this higher form of guidance to take over and lead. Plus, replace outdated conditioned information with new knowledge, even when it cannot understand what is going on. I also realise the futility of overthinking for solving problems—I let solutions emerge quietly and naturally from the depths of my all-knowing self.
Value 5: Inspired action
Witnessing the futility of forced action first-hand, especially when I’m ill-prepared for it, I allow myself to take any action that feels right for a given moment. I trust that I end up taking the right action at the right time, and in case of inaction, my higher forces automatically prod me to act when needed. That’s why I neither judge nor criticise myself in moments of non-action. Likewise, I let this force allow me to take bold risks in various spheres of my life while surrendering the outcomes to it.
Value 6: Surrounding myself with inspiring people
As the saying goes, we’re the sum product of the five people we interact with every day, so I choose to intentionally seek out the company of positive, uplifting people, especially those who believe in me and bet on me. These people have not only achieved what they set out to do but have also faced and overcome challenges and adversities of all kinds. They have the credentials to advise and guide me. By choosing to learn from them and absorbing their winning energy (mainly from their books, blogs, biographies, interviews, podcasts, etc.), I automatically rewrite any faulty programming in my mind and deflect negative, discouraging people from my midst. People are free to determine “how” I should achieve my life purpose, not dictate “what” my life purpose should be.
Value 7: Compassion and non-interference
I understand that everyone is operating at their timeline, so I refuse to interfere with their process by judging them or giving them needless advice. I know it’s not on me to change or “fix” anyone and that people change only if and when they want to. I acknowledge the need to practise patience and kindness in such situations. I silently pray for the well-being of these people and let the matter go, promising myself to be there for them if they need me.
Value 8: Balance
I understand the importance of various areas of my life (relationships, money, work, health and fitness, spirituality, socialising, time alone, etc.) and how neglecting even one of them has ripple effects on all. That’s why I design my schedule in a manner that each of them gets the required amount of priority at the right time. In the case of my finances, I strive to accommodate both present and future needs by allocating separate amounts for investments, immediate necessities, long-term goals, education, giving back, and fun.
Value 9: Attracting instead of chasing, pulling instead of pushing
The exhaustion of large amounts of energy in the process of forcing outcomes only leads to fatigue and burnout. I now try easier ways of doing things and allow outcomes to materialise effortlessly. In line with my “inside-out” philosophy, I work on my mind and fill it with new knowledge so it helps produce the desired result, with minimal effort on my part. I now believe in effortless work more than hard work.
Value 10: Honouring my truth
When external voices contradict my inner knowing, I side with the latter. No more gaslighting myself. Instead of forcing myself to follow contradictory “expert guidance,” I filter out advice that doesn’t align with my core beliefs, and I detach from influences that impose conflicting viewpoints without caring about my own.
Why 10 values?
Firstly, 10 is a balanced number—neither too few nor too many. Having 10 values makes it easy for you to implement them, and I’m already applying these values in my daily life.
Besides, it’s research-backed; the ‘Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values’ identifies 10 universal values that drive motivation and decision-making. BS Nagesh’s book, too, details 10 core values practised at Shoppers Stop.
How to find out your values
If you’re unsure of your values, here’s how I found mine:
Mindfulness: What are some of the most common patterns in your daily behaviour? What consistently matters to you? Stay alert to them all.
Value-shopping: Search Google for a list of values and see which ones resonate with you. (Rescript Your Life has a 3.5-page list in chapter 14; get the book here.)
Feelings: All those times you felt good, especially upon doing something right, what did you do that led you to those good feelings? Similarly, what made you feel bad in past moments you don’t want to talk about? What values were at play in both instances?
Reliving: If you had to return to certain moments or experiences of your life and do them all over again, what would you do differently?
Goals: What are your top 5 goals? Narrow them down to 3. Then, 2. Then, 1. Prioritise them all. Also, why are these goals on your list? What makes you want them so much and so badly?
Guarding: What were those moments when someone tried to impose their beliefs on you and you either rejected them or had a visceral reaction to them? Why? What beliefs you hold dear did you try to protect or defend?
What are your 10 most cherished values? How has documenting them transformed your life and decision-making? Tell me about your experiences in the comments below.
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Note: A part of this post was generated using ChatGPT.
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