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Uncover Your Core Values: A Fresh, Powerful Approach

·419 words·2 mins
Personal Development Values Personal Development Leadership
Lupus Tungsten
Author
Lupus Tungsten
I’m Lupus, from Dresden, Germany. I write about personal development, fitness, and life’s big questions, blending raw reflections with practical insights. Join me as I explore what it means to live intentionally! 😊
Table of Contents

The Usual Method and Its Flaws
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Search online for ways to discover your personal values, and you’ll likely find a popular approach: download a list of values, pick the ones that resonate, prioritize them, and call the top 3–5 your core values. Sounds simple, right? But honestly, I find it a bit shaky. It banks on your subconscious magically revealing “true” values shaped by real experiences rather than just wishful thinking.

Journaling is another go-to suggestion, but let’s be real: if you’ve been journaling for years and already know your core values inside out, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. No offense! 😉

A Smarter, More Reliable Method
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I stumbled across a game-changing approach in a German business book that delivers more accurate and dependable results. Ready to uncover your true values? Let’s dive in!

How to Get Started:

  1. Grab a pen, paper, or—better yet—sticky notes. Find a wall or window to work with for the first step.
  2. Think back to pivotal moments in your life—turning points where you made big decisions. Give each moment a short title and write them on sticky notes in chronological order.
  3. Let your mind wander through your life’s timeline, recalling more moments as they come up.
  4. Once you feel you’ve covered the key events, dig into what drove each decision. Jot down these driving factors without overthinking or forcing structure. Add or remove elements as insights emerge—you’ll be amazed at what truly mattered to you time and again!
  5. Keep going until you feel a sense of completion. Don’t stop too soon!

This process offers a clear window into your past, giving you a snapshot of your core values. Since core values tend to stay stable, this picture likely holds true for your present and future.

Pinpointing Your Top Values:

  1. Review your list and pick the 3–5 values that consistently shaped your decisions.
  2. Rank them by importance. The more a value influenced your choices, the higher it likely ranks.

Putting Your Core Values to Work:

  1. Use your core values to test future big decisions, making them stronger and more aligned with who you are.
  2. Reflect on the order of your values. Could tweaking them improve your life? Try visual reminders, like posting your values somewhere you’ll see daily.

Engage with your list, refine the wording if needed, and think about the impact of these shifts. Over time, you’ll gain deep insights, steer clear of short-sighted choices, and guide your life toward fulfillment and balance.

What do you think? Share your thoughts! 😊