#49: Planning for 2022 part 1: Values

This is going to be part 1 of a two-part series to preparing for 2022. What can you do this week to prepare yourself for the year ahead and set yourself up to have some wins next year that you didn’t get this year? Today we’ll be talking about values and Wednesday will be about a Year in Review. “The more clear I am about what my goals are, the more easily I can say no.” - Samin Nosrat But if everything is a priority, nothing is. Without knowing what’s the most important thing, we can’t really make any progress towards anything at all. It’s just a sea of opportunity, with no lighthouse or compass. Our goals and values operate as the lighthouse and the compass. I think of personal values as the compass, no matter what our goals are, the values keep us oriented to the world. And our goals are the lighthouse. Using our values as a map, our goals are the specific points we aim to reach within the sea of opportunities. As most metaphors do, this falls apart as it gets too detailed, but the point is, values operate as the overarching guide, with goals as the specific points within that journey. I want to take you through an exercise to help determine our values. Get a pen and paper. If you don't have that, you can do this on your phone. I’m going to read through a handful of common personal values, and write down the ones that really resonate with you. These are all largely good things, so a ton of them might resonate with you and sound like things you want to value and prioritize, but it’s okay to write down several of them. This list isn’t exhaustive, so your values may not be on this list, either. That’s okay, too. Feel free to add your own values and make this exercise your own. Achievement Adventure Career Community Competency Creativity Faith Fame Family Friendships Growth Happiness Honesty Humor Independence Influence Justice Kindness Knowledge Leadership Peace Reputation Security Success Wealth Wisdom Now what I want you to do is look at the new list you’ve made. Try to pick less than five of these core values to focus on. If everything’s a value, nothing really is. Over the next two days before Wednesday, I want you to look at this list again and see if you’d change anything. Maybe you can journal about this or meditate on it. If you could pick 3-5 core personal values, what would they be? Some questions to consider in this search: “If ____ went wrong, I would drop anything to make it right.” “At my eulogy, what do I want people to say about me?” “When I make big decisions, what factors weigh the most?” “When I feel the most fulfilled, what am I focusing on?” “If I could only make decisions based on ONE of these values, what would I choose?” These questions don't have easy answers. Important questions rarely do. Every Monday and Wednesday, I publish a bite-sized episode on fulfillment, living by design, working hard, career growth, and mental models. These episodes are less than 10 minutes so you can fit them in your daily routine, and they come from some of the wisest, most accomplished people throughout history. Subscribe to the show today wherever you get your podcasts. For more Bite-Sized Philosophy content, subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, follow me on Twitter or subscribe to my email list for a fun story delivered right to your inbox every single Friday! Text me! 323-609-5262