What are Personal Values

Personal values are things that you hold as important, dear and worthy. Your values are the things that you think are morally right and commit yourself to regardless of the outcome.

They are also the things that you will not stand for and compromise your integrity. Your moral values are what you think as right or wrong and it provides you with a sense of identity.


Everyone has diverse set of code of conduct and is prioritized according to her beliefs and opinions. What is important to one person is different from the next. Some people choose their standards of behavior with care and are clear about them while others live their life without giving much thought.


Your personal values drive your decisions and actions. The decisions that you make and the actions that you take are expressions of your beliefs and moral ethics. Life gives you choices and you choose based on your set of ideals.


Your values determine your personality, your character and your life. They are the foundations of a person's character. Your set of principles is the guiding rule of your personal behavior and governs your judgments.


What you do especially when you are under pressure shows the real you. A person who stands by what she believes in and does the right thing reflects her credibility.


"All decision making comes down to values clarification." - Anthony Robbins


Your personal values were shaped by or as a result of ...

  1. Your life experiences.


  2. Conditioned through rewards and punishments from childhood.


  3. Culture.


  4. Your environment.


  5. Modeled from someone from real life or characters in movies or books.

Some examples and list of positive life and personal values

  1. Love


  2. Freedom


  3. Personal growth


  4. Health


  5. Happiness


  6. Creativity


  7. Passionate


  8. Intelligence


  9. Being the best

According the list above, love is more important than freedom. If this is your list of life values, you will do anything for love and put freedom second. And being the best comes last. Your decisions are based on this set of standards. If you want to change the way you have been doing or accepting things, change the list accordingly.


Not knowing what you stand for will give you endless pain and misery. This is one of the reasons why you feel lost, incomplete and are in conflict with yourself and others. Knowing and having solid values makes achieving goals easier. Having a sense of righteous allows you to behave in ways that gives you inner strength and makes you feel good about yourself.


Your beliefs and ideals can be changed. To find out what life values, take a piece of paper and list down things such as qualities, emotions, traits, attitude and etc, in terms of importance. Take a look at the list when you have finished writing, be honest and question yourself if the list that you have written is what you actually believe in. Ponder about it and make a new list if you think it is necessary. This exercise will help you notice what you have been subconsciously thinking and doing or not doing.


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