Values are those things that are most important to you. They include people, things, virtues, concepts, beliefs and feelings. Together they constitute your individual philosophy of life. Goals, on the other hand, are how you fulfil the values that are important to you. What was interesting to me, was that my values are basically the same….but my goals have changed. This is logical, because at the time I only set one year goals…and that was five years ago. Nevertheless, I was able to follow through with the necessary action because I had defined my values and goals.
So what are your values:
security, freedom, happiness, peace of mind, fun, excitement, power, family, marriage, friends, making a difference, spirituality, independence, growth, creativity, adventure, fulfillment, confidence, balance, love, health, loyalty, education, tradition, authenticity, strength of purpose, honesty, generosity, kindness, beauty, community, the environment, fairness, or intelligence
Only you know what matters deeply to you. Write down the five core values that matter the most to you. Don’t overthink it. Your gut reaction is right. Just make sure to write them down! Our society assigns a higher value to written contracts than oral agreements. So make your values a written contract with yourself!!!
What are your goals?
Do you have your 3, 10, 20 and 30 year goals written down? If not, then this is something you might want to think about doing sometime. If you need coaching, DancerVictory will be released later this year.
What are your current actions?
It never ceases to amaze me that people will change their values quicker than they will change their actions. Not on purpose, but just because they are just drifting through life without clearly defined values and goals. “We fail to find the time to proactively define our values and goals…..yet squander even more time dealing reactively with the inevitable mess created by our own neglect.”
Here is what I found for myself:
In 2004 my top five values were
1. Marriage
2. Financial Security
3. Health
4. Careers
5.Fun.
I completed this activity in early January. My corresponding goals for each value were: 1. get married on June 26 2. Save $200/month starting Feb 1 3. Hire a personal trainer by Feb 1 4. Increase dancing profit 10% by Dec 31 5. Go on a 2 week honeymoon in July. I wrote them all down…and I did them all by the planned date.
When I revisited this work book in 2006 My top values
were
1. Family
2. Financial Security
3. Health
4. Confidence
5. Fullfillment
My corresponding goals were 1. Go on a family vacation in June 2. Devote 5 hours a week to Investools PhD program, completion date spring 2008 3. Practice Bikram Yoga 3 times a week 4. Finish Think and Grow Rich and complete Mastermind Checklist by March 31 5. Make 6 figures by Dec 31. Once again, because my goals were aligned with the values that were important to me…it was easy to accomplish them!
Take a good look at what is really important to you. Then be brutally honest with yourself: Are you living your life according to your values? Are your actions consistent with your values? Are the people you spend most of your time with propelling you towards, or distracting you away from what is most important to you? Only you can make the necessary changes.