The Road Map that Guides Your Life: Values

Knowing what you value is another important component of your emotional intelligence. Your values are the road map that guide your life. They are what helps you relate to yourself, others, and the world around you. As stated by Brandon Goleman in his book ”Emotional Intelligence” (2019) ”When everything else gets foggy and blurry, your values will be the lighthouse guiding you to the shore (p. 42).

Values are different from goals. Goals are what we aim to achieve, while values point us in the direction we want to keep moving. Look at values like your "north," as they will tend to guide you as you go through life.

Here are a list of some common values people tend to have:

• Family

• Intimate relations

• Parenting

• Social Life

• Career

• Education/Self-Growth

• Fun

• Spirituality

• Community

• Health

Check out this Personal Value Sort Card activity to help you figure out your personal values. See link and instructions below:

http://www.motivationalinterviewing.org/sites/default/files/valuescardsort_0.pdf

Instructions:

Print out the pdf and cut each box out. Then use the cards “Important to Me,” “Not Important to Me,” and “Very Important to Me” as column headings. Go through the rest of the cards and place them next to one of the importance cards, as appropriate. Next, look at the cards under “Very Important to Me.” Put them in order and pick the top ten. These ten values are the ones that will guide your life and the decisions you make.