How often do you feel confused, because you’ve come up with so many ideas or there are too many options and you don’t know which is the best one to pick? So you hop backwards and forwards, from one idea to another, and as time passes by you end up feeling like you’ve just gone round and round in circles. Sound familiar?
I think one of the traits of an entrepreneur is that we are forever coming up with new ideas – I have about 10 new ideas before I’ve even got out of the shower! And sometimes it can be really hard to know which direction to take things in or what ideas are the best ideas.
The truth is, the only way to know which idea is the best is to give it a try. However, there is something very powerful that you can do that will really help you to figure out what options/ideas are best for you.
And that is discovering your…
CORE VALUES.
So many people feel unfulfilled or unhappy because they’re living in conflict with their core values. The problem is that they have no idea what their core values are and therefore, they don’t truly understand why they are feeling the way they are.
If you know what your core values are it will help you to set goals for yourself that are really in alignment with who you are, it will help you to stay on track, because you know what situations wouldn’t work out the best for you and it will help you to make better decisions.
But, how do you figure out what your core values actually are?
Here is a simply 3 step exercise to help you get clear on your core values:
Step One:
Get a blank piece of paper and at the top write, “My core values”
I want you to ask yourself these questions:
- what is most important to me right now?
- what means a lot to me?
- What do I like or enjoy to do?
Allow yourself to write anything that springs to mind. Maybe family and friends are most important to you, or perhaps you think that making the time to see the world is important. Maybe having money is really important to you? Whatever it is, write it down.
Step Two:
Now you have your list, go through each thing you’ve written down and think about why it means something to you. Ask yourself:
“What does (IMPORTANT THING) mean to me?”
For example, if you said building a business was important to you you’d ask, “what does building a business mean to me?” Maybe it makes you feel free or maybe it gives you control over your life. Perhaps it’s because you like adventure. Whatever comes into your head write it down.
These are your values.
Step Three:
Now you should have a load of values written out – maybe the same value came up several times, if so, it’s likely to be your primary value. Go through the list and select 5 values that you feel are the most important to you.
Once you’ve written your top 5 down, order them. So think about what your number one core value is.
After completing this exercise you should have a clearer picture as to what your core values are. It might not be 100% correct, but it’s a start.
Over the next few weeks pay more attention to the situations you find yourself in – if you experience something that makes you really happy, really great etc make a note of what happened and why it made you feel good. If you experience something that makes you feel rubbish or sad or unhappy, make a note of what happened and write down why it made you feel that way. If you do that for a few weeks you should start to get a better ideas as to what you true values are.
Once you know your core values, make sure you pay attention to them – look to see if there’s any areas of your life which conflict with your values. It could be the reason why you might feel unfulfilled or unhappy. Whenever you have a decision to make in the future about an idea or option to pick, think about you core values and see how the ideas match up with them. If an idea conflicts with your values, chances are it’s not the right thing to do for you.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this exercise. I’d love to know what you think, so please let me a comment.
I’ll be back next week.
Carrie x
