Most people have many different values that vary in importance!

Have you ever thought about how important your values are to your success and personal development, or have you ever asked yourself what your values are or what they mean to you and your life?

Our values are the essence of who we are as people. Our values determine our beliefs about the world and, more importantly, about ourselves. Our thoughts determine our attitude to life and everything that happens to us, and they choose our expectations. Our values are, in a sense, our philosophy of life.

Your values ultimately determine your actions and decisions in all areas of life. Assuming you are uncertain about your qualities, observing your behavior and actions is ideal, especially when facing different choices or under pressure. Look at how you have behaved in the past. Your preferences will give you a relatively accurate indication of your values since you always act as indicated by what means quite a bit to you at some random time.

Most people have many different values that vary in importance. Their ranking may change according to circumstances, but a few generally exert the most significant influence on our behaviors. You need to be aware of your values and know and understand yourself before setting goals because your goals must be consistent with yours.

For example, if Robert spends two or three hours a day, in addition to his full-time job, working on opportunities that will provide him and his family with a better future, he has decided that that is the most valuable use of his time. It is his way of expressing essential values. On the other hand, if Mark decides that he would rather spend that time watching TV or then again spending time with his companions, he is too expressing his most important values.

If he sets a goal of being financially independent and retiring at age 50, it is easy to see which of the above behaviors will lead to this outcome. Therefore, setting this goal is no point if you continue behaving more like Mark than Robert.

It exemplifies the interconnectedness between values, goals, and actions.

If your objectives are not aligned with your qualities and overall philosophy of life, you will likely spend a lot of time going back and forth or in circles with little results. You are also expected to create internal conflicts and imbalances and feel frustrated and disillusioned when setting goals.