Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Your core beliefs define who you are...

Today
You know, the longer amount of time I spend in this life, the more important it has become to me to value not only who I am, but continually work at expressing my life values or personal standards.

What? What are life values?  Personal standards...you know, those thoughts and actions that you deem acceptable to yourself -- a personal code of conduct that has expanded to include your mental realm as well. In other words -- our convictions -- what we believe is important and desirable in attitude and behavior.  Instrumental values are convictions about our desired character and behavior.  And, guess what, these can't be expressed in a vacuum -- we need other people to help implement the values we have identified as important to us.  It is demonstrated in what we think about other people and how we act towards them.  

How in the heck do you decide on your own personal set of core values?  How do you identify, clarify and and focus on your own values? The first step is enhanced self-awareness.  We can ask ourselves questions. This link offers good suggestions to help you determine what is important to you.

"How do you know who you are?" -- DCR

Why does it matter?
Decisions about our ethics and moral philosophy all come from our value choices. When we act with truth (integrity) and our priorities are in line with our chosen values, self-esteem is improved and we move toward implementing the keys to our own happiness.

Consider this...your "code" is how you think you should live your life -- the principles, standards, qualities, beliefs, characteristics -- what you hold important in life -- not materially or financially -- it is what defines you as a person.

And consider this, too...If you are wondering around with an undefined character, how do you know who you are, what you stand for, or how you will react in any given situation?

Hey, think about all this and decide for yourself.  Hmmm.

Thank you to Rice Agency for the use of the beautiful photo.

5 comments:

  1. Good one Di, probably my most favorite blog of all. Today's times are a real challenge to stick with your core values. Thanks for the reminder.

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  2. Anonymous,
    Thank you, I am glad it was meaningful to you. I think our lives have a greater depth and texture when we live up to our own definitions of character.

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  3. It's amazing the folks (and businesses) who come to mind that practice decision-making from their core principles. They are to be respected and are usually those you can count on to do the right thing at nearly every turn. May not always agree with or understand them, but the outward manifestation breeds trust and makes for very good example and even better friendships or relationships. A learning and growth experience, all-around. Great subject, DCR.

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  4. TLR, Nice to from you and thanks for commenting. There is so much "company speak" about acting from core values, but it can be rare yhatupper management adheres to the principle. I agree it is readily apparent when a person has a defined core beliefs and is able to draw from them for decisions and behavior.

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