When is the last time you learned something new about yourself?
I am not talking about learning that you liked a new food. I mean something deep that can help change the direction of your life or give you the feeling of fulfillment.
At the end of 2017, I launched my first book, Soul Prescription 101 Ways to Find Joy, Meaning & Fulfillment. This was a large task to walk this project across the finish line. It took me 2 1/2 years from first sentences to final publication.
KNOW YOUR VALUES
By achieving this long time goal, I was surprised to learn something about myself that I didn't already know. I learned that I needed to be creative in my life.
If you had asked me if I was a creative person before I wrote the book, I would have said "Yes! I can be creative. I enjoy creativity." What I learned from going through the process of writing a book, however, is that (beyond loving creativity), I needed to be creative in my life. This is not just good information to know about myself or a casual FYI.
This is SIGNIFICANT.
Why? Because it showed me what I valued. Values are a way to articulate who you are from the inside out. Values help point you toward fulfillment and meaning and dare I say, JOY! When you are a living expression of what you value, you begin to feel fulfilled. If you have ever felt lost, values are a way to be found.
The other Values I already knew about myself (interestingly enough all begin with the letter "C") are:
CONNECTION
CONTRIBUTION
COMEDY
Basically when I am honouring these values, that is, actively connecting, contributing, and having fun,I feel fulfilled. If I am not actively engaged in these, I start feeling irritated, feeling stuck, wondering why I feel 'blah." Then I realize, "Oh, maybe I am not aligned with what I value."
Having gone through the experience of writing, I have added CREATIVITY to my list of values. I only learned this by doing something new and then reflecting on what I learned about the experience.
HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR VALUES
Here are some shortcuts to begin to find out what you value, ask yourself this one question:
What are the "must haves" in my life?
Also, look at your peak experiences.
What were you doing?
Who were you being in those peak experiences?
What qualities were you activating?
You learn about yourself by doing things. Try new experiences. Maybe you will learn something about yourself that surprises you. You never know what experience is going to turn it all on for you.
It is time to raise yourself awareness. Don't be afraid to look. I guarantee your VALUES are staring back at you.
If you want to do a deep dive on your values, go to https://www.danalloydleadership.com/assessments for printable sheets on How to Mine for Values and a Values Record Sheet to keep a running list of the values that drive your life.
To your continued growth,
Dana