Core Values

As you put the pieces of your dream together you will need to engage with more and more of yourself. Fortunately we all possess much more potential than we have been using - especially as we begin to close escapes that have been stealing from us. So how do we learn what lies hidden or dormant inside of us? One fun way to do this is by exploring your core values. 

Core values build upon the personal vision that we talked about a few weeks ago. They help us to learn more deeply who we are and what motivates us. They can also help you to understand your dream and why it is that your dream, among so many potential dreams, is important to you.

But more than that, our core values are custom made strategies for walking into our dreams - like 'superpowers' that we can call upon when we most need them. 

So how do these powers work? Here's an example of how it works for me...

Say I am having a hard time moving forward with something new (which happens often with me). Rather than getting overwhelmed and discouraged by personal obstacles that seem too big for me to handle, I can remind myself that adventure and challenge require something to overcome, and creativity thrives where solutions are not obvious. Wow, those are three of my core values!

The next step is where something dramatic happens. As I am reminded that the new thing that I am facing is an opportunity for what is most important and meaningful to me (adventure, challenge, creativity), it becomes something that I can embrace. It actually transforms the situation into something that I love doing. 

Finally, when I love doing something, I am much more likely to spend time and energy investing in it, which increases the chance that the new thing that had overwhelmed and discouraged me at first will succeed. 

If you are interested in exploring your 'superpowers' you can find a list of core value cards to print off here. Once you have printed them off, you simply sort them into three categories: Not Important to Me, Important to Me and Very Important to Me. You are finished when you end up with no more than ten values in the Very Important to Me pile. Now, write them down and start practicing using them...a superhero costume is optional.