Why your values matter
When I was going through my life coach training, a little subject kept coming up. Not just for trained life coaches, but for everyone. It’s our values. To tell you the truth, I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to my values up until that time. Sure, I knew the basics like faith and kindness. But after that, I wasn’t sure what they were and why they mattered.
Enter life coach training. Did you know that whether we are aware of them or not — we may already be living out our values? Or did you know that your values are instrumental in how and why we make decisions? Yea…neither did I.
Fun facts about values
I’ve got a few fun facts about values. They are typically unique to you. Sure, other people in your life can have similar values. But your top values aren’t a group project. Your values can be unique and different from your most important people. And that’s OK. Another fun fact? They can change. Depending on your season and what matters most in that season your top 5 values and shift and sometimes change. That’s ok too. Understanding and being aware of your unique to you values at this time in your life can help you live authentically and make decisions confidently. So why are they so important? Keep reading.
They help us pinpoint what matters most
I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but sometimes what matters most gets lost in what matters now. From to-do lists to our own self talk about what “should matter most” we can feel stuck and lost. But our values? They are always there under the surface even when we don’t realize it. And the way we discover them? Is pressing pause and tuning out all the noise around us and choosing to talk with God about our values and what has heart and meaning in our lives today.
They help us make decisions
I’m not gonna lie, but I had no idea about this. As I was going through my coach training — I was surprised by this idea. To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about how to make good decisions. I just made them with the info I had at the time. And while that isn’t wrong, our values can help us decide what we say yes to and no to when it comes to decision making. Once you discover your values, it becomes easier to say no what is obligation but not a best yes.
They help us set boundaries
Anyone else need help with setting some boundaries? Just me? When I live aware of my values, setting boundaries at work and at home becomes easier. For instance, if I know family is a value then it becomes easier to set boundaries with my time especially those who might demand more and more time from us.
I loved learning about values so much that we talk about it alot around here at One Foot Coaching. We touch on it in some of our monthly group coaching and we just covered this topic in our Rooted & Radiant group coaching session. It’s all about accountability and putting what we learn into practice. Interested in learning more about your values? Check out our group coaching opportunities to learn more.
