Life Choices: Windows of opportunity!

​Personal values are a central part of who you are and who you want to be. By becoming more aware of these important factors in your life, and how to use them, they would guide you to make the best choice in any situation. Personal values can be defined as Important and lasting beliefs about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Thus your values represent what is important to you, they are the driving force behind the choices you make and the behavior you display every day.  #SuccessMindset

​Make Value Driven Life Choices - You will gain tremendous clarity around your life and the decisions you make by understanding exactly which values are important to you.

​ Your values directly affect your lifestyle and your social experiences.

To understand your values as a fundamental building block of life, there are many important decisions about determining what you value most. Values have a major influence on a person's behavior and attitude and serve as broad guidelines in all situations.

Your decisions, choices you make and your emotions are also directly affected by your values. You will gain tremendous clarity around your life and the decisions you make by understanding exactly which values are important to you, This way you have the perfect starting point for understanding yourself, your motivators and actions. You will be able to prioritize effectively in the way that leads you to a successful and happy life - by taking consistent correct decisions.

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me the truth.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

When your choices are driven by your values, you will live in alignment with your values, and you then will experience balance in your life – you will be satisfied and happy. When you make choices, which are not aligned with your values, you will experience conflicting feelings, which may lead to frustration, guilt, and unhappiness. The clearer your values are, the more rapidly you can identify why you are experiencing conflicting feelings and realign yourself to be happy and contend again.
 
Make use of the following questions, helping you find your values and look into how to best use them for goal-setting and decision-making:
 
Select the Top 10 Personal Values.
Rewrite them from most important to less Important
Respect
Responsibility
Security
Self-Respect
Service
Spirituality/Religion
Stability
Success
Status
Trustworthiness
Wealth
Wisdom
Authenticity
Achievement
Balance
Beauty
Boldness
Compassion
Challenge
Community
Competency
Contribution
Creativity
Curiosity
Justice
Kindness
Knowledge
Leadership
Learning
Love
Loyalty
Optimism
Peace
Pleasure
Recognition
Reputation
Determination
Fairness
Faith
Fame
Friendships
Fun
Growth
Happiness
Honesty
Humor
Influence
Inner Harmony
 
Now, choose your top four values from the ten you originally chose above and to start to examine why these are so important to you. Completing this will help you think more about how these values influence your actions and understand why you may respond in a certain way.
 
Our values have a direct effect on the emotions that we experience each day which then affects the goals we have set to achieve in life. Take a moment now that you have your list of your top four values that matters most to you – measure it against the following questions:
- Would this values that I chose made that those I love also feel loved?
- Will it assist me in avoiding unkind words and deeds or not?
- Could these values assist me to do something worthwhile?
 
These are just a few questions could change your focus to what is really important, and the rest of your life will quickly fall into place.
 
Please note that it’s not uncommon for some to find that their core values are not reflected in their everyday living.  Many times closing this gap between your core values and the way you currently live requires big life changes. It is not recommended to close this gap without professional help or at the very least a good support network.

Further Reading: Success Mindset