As pursuers of living out of our unique design, we need to know ourselves. Not to ‘navel-gaze’, but to more fully live so that we can more fully impact those around us.
One of the foundations of this pursuit is not only knowing our values, but living each day in alignment with those values. If we’re not living in alignment with our values, we experience frustration, anger, and a stirring within that says something isn’t right. If we take the time to reflect, we may realize that our values are being compromised. Let’s see how we can live more in alignment with our values.
As an example, my top three values are Integrity, Creativity, and Freedom. So today I ask myself “If I live with integrity, what does it look like? How do I live creatively? How do I live in freedom?”
Let’s go deeper.
Integrity. For me this means being true to who I am at the core. It means living today in alignment with my unique design. It means not living today in alignment with someone else’s idea of my unique design. It may mean not doing what I’m necessarily good at, but doing what I’m passionate about.
Creativity. Often times in defining something, it helps to know what it’s not. To me, living creatively is not being stuck. It’s looking at life’s scenarios with a new and fresh perspective. Not giving up. What are the options in a specific situation I may be in? How do I continue moving forward? Specific activities may include taking a walk, visiting an art museum, having tea with a good friend – activities that help me live and think creatively.
Freedom. Living life fully. A visual always comes to mind when I think of this. It’s someone in an open field or on a mountain top with arms extended, face lifted towards the sky, with contentment, joy, and laughter filling their very being. So, today, I ask myself, what are the actions that I can do to live in Freedom? What may I need to stop doing so that I live more fully in freedom?
These are my values and these are examples of questions I ask myself so that I’m daily living out what’s important to me.
What are your values? You may start with this list, if it helps. Once you determine your top three values, determine what each of those values mean to you. Then each day, ponder “how do I live today so that I’m living out these top 3 values, living out what’s most important to me?”
If you have questions/thoughts as you determine and live out your values, I’d love to hear from you.
07/05/2010 at 8:41 pm Permalink
Very interesting concept.
08/05/2010 at 5:59 pm Permalink
Hi Merle! Thanks for visiting and participating!
11/05/2010 at 4:48 pm Permalink
As I was sitting in the tub soaking the pain away thinking about “what are my values?” they came simply. Love God. Love people. Be You. They are all wrapped up in that.
So to “Love God” I would be dancing through life with Him. I would ask myself: Am I serving God out of my passion today or duty? Is my mind open to His thoughts or are my thoughts/agendas priority today? Are my emotions free or tied up with greed, unforgiveness, selfishness? Is my strength at work, home, play dedicated to love Him today and serve those on my way or just to my agenda for my consumption? Line myself up with dedicating my passions, thoughts, actions, emotions to be used to love others today through my love for Him,
To “Love Others” I would look at how I can love/serve the “regulars” ( family, those I’m with everyday”) and the “Occasionals” ( neighbors, etc.) and those I might meet in that day that would have need of my love? What good deeds, acts of kindness, notes, money, hope gratitude, hospitality, time, etc that I could extend to those I come in contact with this day.
“Be You” is the place where who I am comes in to play and directs the use of my resources and keeps me in balance so that I can keep the joy I need for living life. I need to ask: Is this within my boundaries?– if not scrap it!
Am I living out of my unique design or out of what others expect of me to be/do? And I living out of my strengths or my “shoulds”? Am I living out of my giftings or just going through life doing what is next in front of me? Am I living out of who I am? — for me a butterfly, curious, honest, responsible, a connector big time with people, one who likes to make people a success.
But I loved the simplicity for me to align myself with Love God. Love Others. Be You. So thanks for the impetus to think about my values… and to see aligning myself to them!