Values drive behavior and they also drive decisions, but what if you don’t know what your values are? What then? You may be thinking like I was, ‘I know my values,’ but the follow up question is, “Ok, what are they?” Not really knowing what your values are may be fine until you hit a crossroad.

When we’re faced with a tough decision, the best way to answer it is to go back to our core values and ask, “What do I stand for?” It sounds so doggone simple, yet you’d be surprised how many times we overlook our values and do the wrong thing with thoughts like, ‘Just this once,’ or ‘It doesn’t really matter.”But it always matters with our values. It’s the little things that we succumb to and think it’s ok or justify it with our excuse.

A few months ago we went to IKEA to pick up Champagne flutes my daughter had purchased for a party. When I got to the car, I realized they had given us one extra box. At first, I was excited, it was their error, and I was at my car. But then I heard my conscience say, “That’s stealing.” And I thought about the inventory being off and who would get in trouble. So, I let my values drive my behavior and I walked back into the store and returned the box of flutes to the employee who had handed them to me. He was very grateful. And just to be clear, this box of flutes had a value of $6. Values matter. We need to ask ourselves, “What do I stand for?”

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!

Beth

P.S. Here is a list of possible values. Knowing your top 7 is perfect! https://contentsparks.com/…/free-download-big-list-of…/