Weekly Wings Challenge 3 - Finding Your Core

______________________________________________________________________

Weekly Wings... a weekly coaching challenge to motivate and inspire you to realize your dreams and achieve success! Join in the journey, and if you wish to share your work, post it on your blog, and then leave a static link to the exact page in the comments section.

______________________________________________________________________

Last week, you acknowledged your strengths and accomplishments by writing them as affirmations.  This is an important step on your journey - using an asset-based approach to lay the foundation for continued and expanded success. This week, you will continue to build upon your self-discovery as well as move towards clarifying your dreams and goals.

Core Values

We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget that the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it's all about. - Joseph Campbell

When you are fulfilled in your life, you feel alive and purposeful.  You are living in harmony with who you are as a person, at your very core.  Fulfillment in these terms doesn't meaning having more stuff or more status; it means feeling the joy and satisfaction of living in a way that is aligned with your core values. So, while exploring what's good in the present and using that as a starting point for crystallizing a vision of the future, awareness and clarity around your values is essential.

There are many ways to identify what your core values are, but the most important "rule" of any values exercise is to be completely honest with yourself.  If you look at a list of values, be sure to discard any notions of what you think you should value, or what you would like to value, and tune into your inner voice to hear what it is that you really do value. 

The following exercises are a series of tools you can use to arrive at a list of core values.  The first four are part of the values discovery process.  The last exercise - the Values String is where you put it all together.  Do these in your Journey-Journal, and remember - there are no "right" answers except those that feel right to you.

Peak Moment

• Describe a high point or peak moment/experience in your life or work up to now.
• What was happening at the moment?
• What does this experience say about you?
• What values were being honored in that moment?
• What do these values mean to you? 
• How can you elaborate on your description of these values?

Suppressed Values

• Describe a moment/experience in your life or work up to now in which you felt frustrated, angry, or upset.
• What emotions were you experiencing?
• Why did you feel that way?
• What values were suppressed or violated in this situation?

Must-Haves

• Beyond your basic survival and community needs, what must you have in your life in order to be fulfilled? 
• What qualities are essential to the life of your spirit?

In-the Moment

• What gives energy to you now?
• What do you most value about yourself, your relationships, and the nature of your work?
• What 1 or 2 things do you want more of or different?

Values String

• Revisit what you wrote in response to the above exercises, and pull out what you consider the most important values and concepts that have emerged.
• Using each value as the beginning of a string, write a series of several related words separated by a slash.  For example: Integrity/Honesty/Role-Model
• When you have finished, number the strings in the order of those which you feel are the most essential to your living a fulfilled, harmonious life. The first 3 -5 are your core personal values.

Wrapping it Up

Values are not about what you think we should be or what you would like to be; they are your own unique essence, who you are.  Aligning your vision with your values will lead you to a life of wholeness and fulfillment. Your values show you how to be true to yourself, and thus are essential signposts to follow on your journey. Learning to read your values will help you choose the best destination and navigate the terrain along the way.

Namaste,

______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to be listed as a Weekly Wings participant, please leave your link information in the comments section below. Indicate as well, if you wish to be included on my mailing list. Thank you!

______________________________________________________________________

 

Comments

[valgalart]

I subscribed to your comment feed today and I would like to be on your mailing list please. I think you have me email and let me know if you need it. This is a good challenge to rediscover what really is important and I have been working on this for the last couple of years myself. I will be back to re-evalutate. Thank YOu Carla!

[Toni Brown]

Of COURSE I want to be a participant == sorry, have had the flu, just got to reading this. Will play with these prompts (& the 3/26 ones) tonight, whoo hoo!

[Caroline]

Hi Carla - have I asked to be on your mailing list - I'd like to be!

And I've now got to some core values:

http://caroslines.blogspot.com/2008/03/values.html

[bluerose]

This exercise was enlightening to me. I posted it here: http://bluerose9062.blogspot.com/2008/03/weekly-wings-challenge-3-finding-your.html

I'd like to be on your mailing list, too. Thanks so much!