Want to Live an Authentic Life? Start By Identifying Your Core Values. Here’s How.

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In the world of personal development, people may be encouraged to picture their ideal life. This is very common when it comes to manifesting, for instance, when people might be encouraged to visualize what they want in vivid detail.

I think it can be helpful to know what you want. But one thing I’ve found is that, when you’re trying to picture your ideal life, you can be influenced by the people who are asking you to visualize. They may talk about doing certain types of work, for instance, or living a certain lifestyle, or associating with certain types of people. And because they’re talking about these things so passionately, you may start to feel like you want these things, too.

But while some of these things might align with your true desires, some of them might not. And so, when you’re doing these ideal life visualizations, you’re not necessarily picturing a life that’s authentic to you. If you want your dream life to be an authentic one, it’s important that you come to understand your core values.

Your Core Values

Defining your values is essential for self-discovery work. Your values are one of the driving forces of the decisions you make, from what you do for work to how you dress, how you spend your time, and how you relate to others. Your values tell you what’s important to you. And your core values reveal what’s of utmost importance.

If you want to live an authentic and fulfilling life, take some time to figure out what your core values are. Because you might find it challenging to live authentically if you don’t know what actually matters to you.

The following journal prompts are designed to help you find your personal core values. After you answer them, you can list five based on common themes in your responses. If you need help naming your values, I would advise you to search for a list online since there are so many to choose from. But I’ll give you a list of 20 here to get started:

1. Kindness

2. Generosity

3. Creativity

4. Autonomy

5. Relationships

6. Freedom

7. Empathy

8. Compassion

9. Adventure

10. Travel

11. Power

12. Influence

13. Novelty

14. Confidence

15. Independence

16. Socializing

17. Spirituality

18. Art

19. Fitness

20. Style

Now here are some journal prompts to help you identify your personal core values.

15 Journal Prompts to Help You Define Your Core Values

1. What could you do for hours without getting bored or tired? Or what activities make you lose track of time when you do them?

2. What activities bore or drain you?

3. Think about one of your fondest memories. What were you doing? Who were you with?

4. What kinds of things did you enjoy doing when you were a kid?

5. Are there any activities you used to enjoy doing and still find great pleasure in? Why do you think that is?

6. Are there any activities you used to enjoy but are no longer doing? Why did you stop? Would you like to resume some or all of them? If so, which ones?

7. Do you prefer working alone or in groups? Why?

8. If you were pursuing a goal that took a significant amount of your time, which would you be more willing to sacrifice: time with your family and friends or leisure activities?

9. What do you find yourself naturally gravitating towards (this could refer to activities or content like music, shows, podcasts, books, etc.)?

10. What topics do you never tire of learning about?

11. What things do you do mostly out of a sense of obligation, not enjoyment? (And just to be clear, here we’re talking about a sense of obligation, not obligations like paying bills.)

12. If you didn’t have to think about money, what would you do with your time?

13. What qualities do you admire in others?

14. What qualities do you admire in yourself?

15. What qualities do you wish you had?

You don’t have to answer all of these questions if you don’t want to. I just wanted to give you some variety to choose from. But you might find it helpful to actually write your responses down somewhere. And take your time responding to the prompts. You don’t have to answer them at once, unless you feel inclined to do so. But you can also take time to ponder your responses if you need to.

After you’re done responding, review your answers. Based on common themes you observe, write down a list of five values that match them. Those are your five core values.

An Activity to Help You Start Living in Alignment With Your Core Values

You don’t have to reserve these values for picturing your dream life. Here are five actions you can take today to start living in alignment with those values.

1. Pick one of the values you’ve identified that you feel you’ve been neglecting.

2. Think about or write down five simple ways you could incorporate that value into your daily life. For instance, if you’ve discovered that creativity is important to you, can you take 15 minutes a day to work on creating something? Go to a place that inspires you? Take an art class? Watch a video or read a book about reconnecting to your creativity?
   
   Hint: You could use AI to help you brainstorm. Just say something like, “What are five small ways I could incorporate more [VALUE OR ACTIVITY] into my life?”

3. Pick one of those items and start doing it.

4. After a week or two, evaluate whether this method is working for you. If it is, keep doing it. If it isn’t, try something else from the list in #2.

5. After you feel comfortable with your new routine, repeat items #1-4 with the other four values. (Even if you’re already incorporating some of them into your life, try to find ways you can do so even more.)

Final Thoughts

If you’re trying to live an authentic life, it’s important for you to get clear on your core values. This is because they can serve as a guide to let you know whether you’re really being true to yourself. I don’t think you have to become a completely different person to live a happy and fulfilling life. But you do have to understand what truly matters to you.

And just remember that your values can change over time. But even so, it’s good to get a clearer picture of what they are currently so that you know what an authentic life looks like to you now and so you can start living it.

~ Ashley C.

P.S. If you’re interested in doing more self-discovery work, feel free to sign up for the Questions and Tisane newsletter! There, I offer self-discovery prompts, tips, and advice to help you live your most authentic life. Don’t miss out!