Fresh Start Monday #059: How to use values to make decisions
Over the weekend, I went on a long bike ride in the mountains. I noticed myself in a great mood. I didn't have a worry in my mind as I cruised past the changing colors of fall.
The value of freedom is in my top two values. Whenever I live by that value, my life feels good.
Values are unique attitudes and beliefs that motivate and drive you. They reflect what matters to you most. They're a compass that guides your decision-making and actions.
Back in July, I wanted to purchase a bike. However, I knew nothing about bikes. To make a decision on which bike to purchase felt impossible. There are a million types of bikes, ranging from $200 - $15,000, which have confusing names and components that I still need to learn the meaning and function of.
Doing research and understanding good value is a part of the process, but that doesn't make your decision any easier in our modern world of infinite options. When you know that living through your values creates meaning and satisfaction, values can be used as a decision-making filter.
Using that example, how did the value of freedom help influence my buying decision?
In my research, I came across the company Salsa. Their website says, our mission is to make the best possible bikes and accessories for adventure. Adventure is a clear top value throughout their marketing and branding, in how they built their bikes with versatility as a top priority, and the specific bikes built for bikepacking.
Adventure is a close cousin of freedom. By aligning values, the decision became simple.
Finding your values
I don't recommend Googling "list of values" and choosing values from a long list. I have yet to find this to be accurate for clients. It's too easy to choose what looks good or values to aspire to. Instead, we're looking for clues from the life you've led.
Here are two exercises to help you identify values. Let's look at it through the lens of career exploration, but it can be applied to life, relationships, a business, etc.
1. Starting with your first job, reflect on your career highs and lows. What were you doing at high points, and how did you feel? What caused these moments to stand out? Do the same for low moments.
Do this throughout your career, and once you've written out the descriptions of these periods, notice any patterns or themes that show up. For highs, these descriptions will contain clues to what your values are. For lows, they might be things you'll know to avoid, but the opposite of these low moments is also a place to look for values.
2. Answer the question, what's important to you about:
- The people you work with?
- The work that you do?
- The organization you work for?
- The environment you work in?
Continue to hone in on other parts of work life and understanding their significance to you. How much you write for each question is also telling.
What trends are you noticing in your answers? What are the commonalities to the first question?
These two exercises are a good start to identifying values. You can also go through the same exercises, but instead of focusing on your entire career, focus on one role, or even one project, or that time you volunteered.
Your initial list may contain over a dozen values, but they should become clearer as you reflect over time. I suggest having two clear values, but three to five is good to shoot for. This evolves over months and years, and is not a one-time exercise!
When you use your values to make decisions, you avoid shiny objects like salaries, job titles, what's trending, and other short-term dopamine boosts that people expect or think you should do. And instead, you create a career congruent with who you are.