"When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier." — Roy E. Disney

What do you think of when you hear the word values?

I hear people talk about their values.

A lot.

I hear leaders talk about organizational values.

A lot.

It’s easy to talk about values.

It is another matter entirely to live by them.

I hear people talking about values and using words like character, compassion, and serving others.

Indeed, those are great traits to value.

But how do you know what your values truly are?

It’s simple.

It’s what you give time to.

It’s what you give energy to.

It’s what you give your mind space to.

A sport.

A hobby.

A habit.

A relationship.

A job.

Whatever you give your time and attention to that has a pay-off you value in some way.

Good or bad.

Values are neutral.

Like any “superpower,” they can be used for good or not.

They can produce peace and goodness.

Or be a destructive force.

I believe values fall into two categories.

Aspirational and actual.

Aspirational in the sense of wanting to become different.

Things that will make you a better human if you walk them out in everyday life.

Examples of this might be.

I want to be more kind.

I want to be more loving.

I want to be more responsible.

Actual values are how you really are.

It’s where the idea of “core values” comes from.

It’s who you are underneath.

The essence of who you are.

Here’s where it gets uncomfortable for us.

Because now we must examine what we say versus what we do repeatedly.

Do we live the values we espouse?

For example:

• We say we value quality time with loved ones and yet spend most of our time away from them.

• We say we want to be a trust-based leader, but we spend our time building silos instead of bridges.

• We say we want to raise principle-based children but model behaviors and habits that aren’t good.

Listen, I am not pointing the finger here. I am simply pointing out that for most of us, if we’re honest, we have some work to do on our values.

Here are three statements that I keep in my mind as I work on my values.

1. What I value gets done.

2. What I value drives every decision I make.

3. Make sure that what I value adds value to others.

I want to encourage you to focus on your values this week. I promise it will make a difference in the value you bring to every day and every person around you.

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