To identify and prioritise your top values using our Values Cards, here are the key steps.
Our values are frequently unconscious, but they drive our behaviour and our choices in life.
Identifying and understanding your core values can offer you a guide for living and decision-making.
These instructions accompany Emica’s pack of Values Cards. We use the cards to help clients identify their core values. You may already have this pack after a session with one of our coaches. If not, and you would like to schedule your coaching session, please reach out to us via info@emicaconsulting.com.
In this pack are over 80 cards with different values for you to consider. There are also some blank cards for you to capture a different value that’s important to you that is not included in the existing cards.
Finally, there are three cards to help you sort the values on the first round of sorting.
Before you go through the values sort exercise it can be helpful to spend a little time reflecting on your life so far.
Steps to Identifying Your Values
- Reflect on some times in your life when you most happy, proud, or fulfilled and note down what it was about those times that made you feel that way.
- Reflect on a situation when you were particularly frustrated or annoyed with something or someone. Ask yourself what it was about this situation that was most frustrating to you. (Often, this is when one of our core values is being compromised).
- Now lay the three cards – Important to Me, Very Important to Me, and Not Important to Me – down on a surface in front of you.
- Then go through the values cards and group them into the three categories according to their importance to you. There is no right and wrong – these are your values.
- The tricky part is next. Now take the Very Important to Me pile and narrow this down to no more than 5 top values. These are the values that you are not willing to compromise on and that you need to feel happy and fulfilled.
- Once you have identified these top 5, spend some time separately noting down what each value means to you.
- Why is it important?
- Where in your life are you currently aligned with this value?
- Are there any ways in which you are not living the value?
- What effect is that having on you?
- What could you do, think, or feel to become more aligned?
- How will you remind yourself of these values on a daily basis?
Once you have identified your values, you will have a better understanding of why you find certain situations or jobs fulfilling and enjoyable, and why you might find some situations particularly frustrating.
You can refer to these values in times of decision-making or when you are feeling a little off balance.
If you would like to explore more about how understanding your values can help in your life, or how to use these cards for clarity and building self-awareness, please contact us at info@emicaconsulting.com.
We are happy to help and hope you have enjoyed the exercise in learning more about yourself and what’s important to you.