In a year focused on authenticity and growth, discover how identifying and embracing your core values can guide you toward more fulfilling personal and professional success.
We are starting 2025 by taking inventory of our personal and professional successes and challenges, sweeping away behaviors that do not serve us well, and pledging to replace them with more valuable habits. Okay. Who am I kidding? Some of us caved on day one by swiping that breakroom doughnut while nobody looked. If nobody saw it, it doesn’t count, right?
This year, instead of making endless lists of personal restrictions or exhausting demands, we peer deeper into what we value and align our efforts with that. How do we do this? Well, by finding our own values, or for some of us, refining and reconnecting to what was once there but has somehow gotten buried amongst life’s roles and responsibilities.
I recently asked the questions: Who am I? What makes me tick? What motivates me? What is my why? Since I could not readily answer those questions meaningfully, I decided to dig deeper into identifying my values. I used the Values Exercise by think2perform to identify my top five values. The exercise consisted of sorting a stack of cards labeled with various values into discard and keep piles until I had selected my top five. Easy. I learned that my top five values were meaningful work, achievement, ethics, challenges, and education. That is pretty spot on.
I quickly realized that all of these values were those from which I got satisfaction at my job. My job is meaningful. I challenge myself and others and witness noticeable achievements. I hold myself and my team to high ethical standards and participate in and encourage continuous education. However, this year, I also resolved to find those values outside of work. This in itself is a challenge for me. Because I can satisfy my values at work, I often fail to look elsewhere, which can lead directly to a path of being a workaholic.
I decided to start blogging to satisfy my values outside of my job role. This allows me to share my voice and find meaning in doing so. I am learning about developing a blog site and challenging my technical skills. I will gain a sense of accomplishment with each post and appreciate meaningful and ethical conversations as they deepen over time. This is but one way I can find value outside of work.
I encourage you to participate in this exercise to find your values. Maybe you are not satisfied with your values at work and are considering another career path or looking for avenues to exercise your values outside of the workplace to provide a sense of security and meaning in a more personal sense. Whatever your reasoning, take the values exercise, post your top five values, and tell us how you intend to fulfill your values, either personally or professionally, this year.
Still She Leads 
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