2 - Define your Core Values . . . to live the life true for you!

Reason for this Goal:  Knowing what are core values and being true to your core values will help you with all the decisions in your life. They will act as your internal compass and serve as a lens through which you view the world.  They will help determine how you will be remembered and what kind of legacy you will leave.  

Core values are the principles that guide you and how you conduct your self.  They represent your relationship and how you interact with other people.  They are often included in your personal mission statement and as statement of how you wish to live your life. 

You will be happiest once you understand what are core values, when you are living in harmony with your core values, once you are intentional about adhering to them.

Values are your personal attributes that you stand for, no matter what.   What do you put above all else in terms of defining who you are!

What are core values recommended for you? 

There are many values you can choose, listed in alphabetical order:

• Achievement, Adventure, Action, Ambitious
• Balance
• Calm, Candid, Caring, Charity, Collaboration, Commitment, Communication, Compassion, Confidence, Contribution, Courage, Creativity, Compassion, Curiosity, Customer Service
• Dedication, Dependability, Determination, Disciplined, Doer, Driven
• Education, Effective, Efficient, Empathetic, Empowered, Encouragement, Energetic, Engagement, Enthusiasm, Entrepreneurship, Ethical, Excellence
• Faith, Family, Famous, Fearlessness, Friendly, Fun
• Generosity, Giving, Goodness, Grateful, Gratitude, Growth
• Happiness, Hard work, Health, Honesty, Honor, Humble, Humour
• Impact, Independence, Innovation, Integrity, Intelligence
• Joyful
• Kindness, Knowledge
• Leadership, Learning, Legacy, Listening, Love, Loyalty
• Mastery, Meaning, Meticulous, Modesty, Motivation
• Neatness, Noble
• Openness, Opportunity, Optimism
• Passion, Patient, Patriotism, Peace, People, Perseverance, Persistence, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Philanthropy, Playfulness, Positivity, Politeness, Progress, Prosperity
• Quality
• Realistic, Recreation, Reflection, Reliability, Resilience, Resourceful, Respect, Responsible
• Sacrifice, Self-Awareness, Self-Control, Selfless, Sense of Humour, Service, Sincerity, Spirituality, Strength, Success
• Team work, Togetherness, Tolerance, Toughness, Transparency, Trust, Truth
• Unique, Useful
• Valor, Virtuous, Vision, Vitality
• Wisdom, Wonder
• Yes-minded, Youthful
• Zen

Suggested Target Goal:   List your Core Values and live by them.

Outrageous Goal:   Be true to your Core Values 100% of the time.

Understand what are core values. You should limit your selection of core values to between 3 and 7 Core Values. If you choose too many, it will be too hard to focus on them. 

Some Core Values of famous people:

• Oprah Winfrey:  Courage, Perseverance, Generosity, Progress, Sincerity
• Henry Ford:  Goodness, Sincerity, Generosity, Progress, Perseverance

What are core values of mine?

My core values are:    

1.       Integrity

2.       Optimism

3.       Courage

4.       Encouragement and Enthusiasm (E2)

5.       Knowledge

These core values spell a made up word I repeat to myself IOCEK which I pronounce to myself often. 

Of all the values listed, the most important is Integrity.   Raymond Aaron says, in one of his one-minute monthly mentor videos, that if you have integrity, nothing else matters.   

Warren Buffet says that Integrity is the only thing that matters when hiring someone.

Choose what are your core values this year, and update them once a year as you get better insights into who you are and who you want to be.   When you have a tough decision to make, think about your core values, and this should make your decision easier to make.

Happy, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

Some of us are fortunate, as I was, to find a mentor who inspired me to learn about these areas.  In my case, my first mentor was my Karate Sensei.  

I started training in my early 20s, with a Sensei who taught me so much more than Karate; he taught me many of the things I mention above.  He was running a course for his students, called Improve Your Life, which, for most of us in his classes, was our introduction to personal development and how to design a good life.   Goal setting and life goals was taught and encouraged.   

Striving to be a good and better person was expected, in addition to learning how to kick and punch.  Who would have guessed that these kinds of life skills would be taught by a Karate teacher!  

It was here that I also learned an important mantra of core values, which I would say daily for the rest of my life.    After attending one of his seminars, I came away with the expression that has been forever ingrained in my mind, and I repeat often . . . “I am Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise.”   

Return to personal development goals.

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Last Updated:  April 21, 2020