What Are Core Values?
Core values are the fundamental principles that drive your behavior and shape your character. Think of them as your internal operating system – they're constantly running in the background, influencing how you see the world and make decisions.
Core values might include:
- Authenticity
- Creativity
- Growth
- Connection
- Excellence
They help you answer questions like:
- What makes a life well-lived?
- How do I want to treat others?
- What kind of person do I want to be?
- What truly matters to me?
Why Explore Your Values?
Think of the last time you faced a difficult decision. Maybe you were torn between a high-paying job and a more fulfilling role, or struggled with setting boundaries in a relationship. In moments like these, understanding your core values isn't just helpful – it's transformative.
When you're clear about your values, decisions that once felt overwhelming become more manageable. You stop second-guessing yourself and start moving forward with confidence. It's like having a trusted advisor who knows you better than anyone else, because that advisor is your authentic self.
Our approach helps you uncover these values, through a quick - yet hopefully thought provoking - questionnaire. This is the starting point of defining your core values in your own words. Afterwards, when you begin to align your choices with your values, you don't just make better decisions – you build a life that is genuinely yours.
The Process
1. Value Exploration
You'll start with a long list of potential values. Select as many as you think naturally resonate with what you would consider to be your most authentic self. Choose as many as you want - the next steps in the exercise are designed to help you whittle down the list to a more concise collection of core values.
2. Priority Discovery
Values often compete for our attention in real-world situations. Through a series of questions, you'll learn which values consistently rise to the top when tough choices need to be made.
3. Completion
At the end of the exercise, you'll have reduced the list to just five core values. You'll be able to freely copy them out of the tool to wherever you feel best to store that information - no paywalls!
4. Personal Definition
Finally, left to your own devices, you'll create clear, meaningful definitions of your core values that go beyond our generic explanations. These personalized definitions will help you better understand how your values apply to your unique life circumstances and decision-making process.
Examples From Others
When completed, you'll have a short list of words that broadly represent your core values; the next step is a personal one - redefining these terms in your own words to best suit yourself and the life you want to live.
Below are a number of examples of values profiles that directly inspired the creation of this tool. To be clear, many of the below profiles are not affiliated with this project, and are simply being presented as examples of what your final values sheet may come to look like.
Want to get added to this section? Email Me.
| Name | Role | Core Values | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Spezowka | Technologist | Responsibility, Cleverness, Appreciation, Resilience, Versatility | Read More |
| Evy | Digital Gardener | Nuance, Empathy, Iteration, Creativity, Connection... | Read More |
| Omar Shehata | Graphics Programmer | Uses a number of short phrases | Read More |
| Jon Tiburzi | Designer, Creator, Solver | Time is Valuable, Joy, Simplicity, Wabi-Sabi, Dream | Read More |
About the Creator
Hi, I'm Alex – a technologist and budding philosopher. Six years ago, my positivity coach walked me through a similar exercise to the one presented here, and it has been one of the most enlightening and guiding processes I've ever done.
I built this tool after discovering that similar ones were either behind paywalls, required the presence of another person, or just didn't function very well. It's designed to help you discover your core values in a way that's both structured and personally meaningful.
Thank you for exploring this site. I hope it's useful to you!
