Why Knowing Yourself is Important
Why is knowing yourself important?
Developing your self-awareness allows you to understand the pieces of the puzzle that complete you. You can then work towards the whole picture that is the best version of yourself, content and fulfilled.
How often do you stop to reflect on what is important to you?
Do you wonder why you feel like a piece of your puzzle is missing or out of place?
If we don't take the time to know ourselves, we run the risk of bumbling around life, taking that job because you feel you should, or saying yes to completing a piece of work, sacrificing getting home on time.
What are Values?
What is your first reaction to the question 'what are your values?' Some people try to remember their organisation's values. Or they think back to when they answered the question in an interview.
What I really mean is, what are the key things that must be in your life to feel content? Your values are unique and play an essential part in your happiness. However, we rarely take the time to reflect on what these are.
How to Get to Know your Values
Think of a time when you felt happy at work, you were motivated, engaged, and everything just clicked.
Now write down the reasons why.
Did you have the right level of freedom or autonomy in your work?
Maybe you had great connections in your team
Or you could be authentic
Perhaps you were financially secure
Or felt intellectually challenged
Did you have the right level of freedom or autonomy in your work?
Maybe you had great connections in your team
Or you could be authentic
Perhaps you were financially secure
Or felt intellectually challenged
Take a look at your list and write down anything else your dream job would have.
There are no judgments on which values are 'right or wrong.' Everyone will need different things. People may even have different meanings attached to the same words. The power of this reflection is about creating clarity on what you need to thrive. This list contains your values and should be cherished.
If your values are not being met, you're likely to feel that life is harder than it needs to be, drained of energy with little motivation.
5 Reasons Why Knowing your Values is Important.
1.They are intrinsically linked to your fulfillment
Common sense, but this connection is often overlooked. Think back to your list and how it felt to be in alignment with your values. At the time you probably didn't think of it this way. It's likely you just thought you were lucky to work for a great boss or to be part of a supportive team. Taking the time to think about what made it special brings to life what you need to feel fulfilled and live a purposeful life.
2. Allows you to work out your compromises
In an ideal world, you would have everything on your list all the time. But, in the real world, this sometimes just isn't possible. So, where is the balance for you to be able to live a fulfilled enough life?
Now is the time to prioritise. You might have a long list of values that are all important to you- but some will be more paramount than others. Try to prioritise your top 5, the things that you absolutely need. As a sanity check, if you were offered a job with the top 5, would you take it, knowing that the others on your list aren't there?
3. They are a guide for your decision making
Having a list of your core values helps you make choices that are right for you. This might lead to some tough decisions. If you realise that a fast-track career isn't what's most important to you right now, it can mean some big decisions to allow you to live a happy and fulfilled life.
4. Helps resolve conflict
Knowing yourself provides clarity on how you react when your core values are not fulfilled. One of my values is being able to help others. Poor customer service really jars with me. I can't understand why someone would be unhelpful, But knowing the reason for this trigger calms me down and I can rationalise my thoughts. I'm angry because my needs haven't been met. I can move on from the emotional outburst to try to get what I actually need to be done.
An interesting exercise is to share your core values with your team, or manager. This transparency is a proactive way of enabling others to understand your point of view.
5. Builds resilience
The more you live your life in tune with what makes you happy, the greater emotional resilience you build. You can cope with change better as you'll be resourced by what is important to you, rather than wasting energy on feelings of resentment or conflict when you're not satisfied.
Taking the time to reflect on your values helps you to know yourself so you can live a fulfilled life in alignment with what is important to you.
Building awareness of values is a core pillar of coaching. A trusted coach facilitates a unique conversation to stimulate growth and development, allowing you to connect with your values that you didn't even know were there.
If you are looking for a compassionate and transformative coach, who can create the time and space you need to know yourself and your values, get in touch here.
