Why Your Personal Core Values Matter

Your personal core values are there to guide behavior and choice. To find yours articulate them clearly in writing and test them through daily decision-making.

Get your core values right and you'll be swift and focused in your decision-making, with clear direction. Get them wrong or leave them ambiguous, and you'll constantly wonder how you got into this mess.

Find a quiet space, and at least an hour to reflect on each section below and write everything on a notebook. To find your core values:

1. Remember and describe in detail your three greatest accomplishments, your three greatest moments of efficiency, and common rules or themes between them.
2. Remember and describe in detail your three greatest failures, your three greatest moments of inefficiency, and common rules or themes between them.
3. Identify three or four brief sentences of advice you would give to yourself based on these commonalities.
4. Reduce them to a few words. For example: "Don't overindulge in food” to “Moderation”.
5. Imagine situations where following your core value hurts you rather than helps you. If you can’t find any, you probably have a good core value.