The Importance of Values.
The Importance of Values.
The Importance of Values.
What decisions and paths have led you to what you are doing right now? When you look back, how much real thinking did you put into deciding what you are doing and what you are good at? It seems that there are many people who in their thirties and forties suddenly realise they are not actually doing what they would like to do. They feel off track or out of alignment. What events and influences had affected their decisions in the past and contributed to the issues they are now facing?
Possibly some of the strongest influences came from short discussions or comments from friends or family like: “have you thought about doing this” or “you can earn really good money doing this” or “just get a good education and get a job”. Although many people who are close to us have the best of intentions, it is fair to say the person who knows you best...is actually you. So it really should be you who has the largest and most profound influence on your own future direction.
If you are in this space of not being sure or having a feeling in your stomach that “this just doesn’t feel right”, some decisions need to be made. However this time the decision maker needs to be you and the key influences to these decisions needs to come from within.
There are many fortunate people who have a strong sense of who they are and what they are good at. These people are often comfortable in themselves, confident in their approach with others and they always seem to make good life decisions. These people have a clear understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses, a personal commitment to honour what is most important to them, and an openness to seek valuable feedback from others.
Given the requirements that go along with daily life how often do you get the time, mental space and self confidence to take a risk, get honest with yourself and work out:
- What are my values and what is important to me?
- What are you most interested in?
- What skills do you have?
- What weaknesses do you have?
- How do other people view you?
- What does ‘on track’ look like?
- What decisions and actions need to be made to get there?
It is amazing that everyone has ideas about what they want to do and have dreams. But so often, people are not even remotely close to turning their dreams or plans into reality. A very important requirement to achieve your plans is to develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for your own future and consequently take charge of your own life direction. This step requires a certain degree of confidence in yourself and a belief in your own decision making ability. You will also benefit from seeking objective and meaningful feedback from those around you.
On your Outward Bound course you would have focussed on defining what is most important to you and what your values are. We all have values in our life, whether we have considered them or not. Values act as the guiding path for the decisions we make. Living them provides that feeling of being ‘on-track’. This feeling builds your confidence in your own decision making abilities by narrowing down the options to those that suit you best.
The Solo time during your course would have given you a great opportunity to contemplate your values and your future without the slightest distraction. Back in the real world it can be easy to lose track of your values, as they slip under the pile of things to do and get lost amongst everyday life. It’s worth setting aside some time every now and then to revisit your values and to check that your life is aligning with them. You can use the following questions to help you check in with what’s most important to you.
1. What parts of your life are you most satisfied with?
2. What are you most prized possessions? Why?
3. What characteristics do you most admire in people (including yourself)?
4. What do you currently not have in your life that you would appreciate having?
5. What would you least like to lose from your life?
6. What would you still like to achieve in your life?
7. What is important to you?
8. What is important to you that you know you take for granted?
9. What are your most treasured memories? What would you like your future treasured memories to be?
10. How would you prefer your life to be?
11. What would you like to have written in your obituary?
12. What is your philosophy for life?
13. What positive, uplifting, inspiring quotes do you refer to?
14. What makes you feel alive?
15. How would you prefer to be?
16. What brings you the most joy in life?
After your values, the second most important thing, is being confident in your ability, but also knowing your strengths and weakness. When doing your Outward Bound course you might have wondered what did kayaking down a river or climbing up a rock face have to do with your life. Well it is only under situations that are new or outside your comfort zone that your true reactions, strengths, weakness, personality and beliefs emerge. Coupled with that you had 13 other people who were in the same boat and who were encouraged, in a supportive and open way, to provide you and each other with feedback.
Each experience on Outward Bound is debriefed so participants can discuss what happened, what were the challenges, what they learned and how does that relate to their working or personal life. There are so many analogies and learnings that emerge from those experiences - many that you did not even know about yourself until that day. Outward Bound provides you with the opportunities to discover this, an understanding of your future potential and that you are capable of much more than you think.
Adele Barlow who completed a Classic course in 2006 said:
“Outward Bound reminded me that….. sometimes you're going so fast that you forget to check whether you're heading where you want to end up. Outward Bound gave me time to think not only about where I wanted to live after graduation, but about which career I want.”
