It really does warm my heart to see a huge number of people inspired to or are navigating change.
One of the hardest aspects of realising we need to make a change in our lives is knowing where to start. If you read my last post about burnout, for me I knew something was wrong when I felt like there was a complete misalignment of values. A misalignment with my career, in my relationships and how I showed up in my day to day life.
Five years ago when this uneasiness was creeping in at the edges, I was at a coaching training and they asked what are your values? And do you know what I didn’t know. I sat there in shock for a good ten minutes before randomly highlighting a list of words on an A4 sheet.
My mind was blank.
It took me time to figure them out. I’m talking months, years, I’m still tweaking them now.
There was a lot of sitting with the original list I made, observing my life, uncovering deeper layers of myself and separating out who I thought the world wanted and who I was.
This is the work.
And this is where we begin.
In a few weeks time we’ll get into the depths of why this matters and what can help you decide. Once you know them we’ll talk about what we do next. But for now, consider these questions.
Ready to dive in? Maybe read my article on rituals including 5 tools for getting closer to nature and spirituality, journal prompts and chats about the importance of re-enchanting our life through ritual.
1. The values of the life I wish to lead are; Courage, Faith, Peace and Wisdom.
2. The values of the life I was leading were; Wealth, Success, Knowledge and Responsibility
Now none of those in the second list are inherently bad, they just didn't match the life that I wanted to live. I was chasing degree after degree after degree, looking for knowledge, when in fact I wanted to gain deep wisdom from others, from nature. I was also living a pretty fearful life. Scared of being alone, of not having a job, of what it meant to be successful. If I chatted with people from my past lives I wanted them to know my life had "moved on". It was such an interesting exercise.
I agree with you Victoria, I feel like health should be the foundation and a given central pillar for everyone. I love the ones that you have chosen. Really beautiful selection. What made you pick curiosity? It’s such a great one.
My husband says it’s the word he most associates with me because I am always interested in the ‘why’ behind things; I like to understand why things are the way they are, look at different perspectives and see what life is like for other people to get an understanding of different experiences. And because I once asked him why monkeys ate bananas and he laughed at that for days (but he didn’t know the answer 😂).
This definitely sounds like curious is an amazing word for you. I wonder how that might filter into your life as you go forward? How exciting to build aspects of your life around such an interesting value like that!
It’s definitely something I am leaning into as I get older. It’s really important to me to understand things from varying perspectives and to seek out new information to challenge existing beliefs but also just to maintain my wonder at the world. There is so much to see and learn and being open and curious to it all is a way of keeping the magic alive (at least, for me).
My value is integrity. Not just in the sense of honesty (although I hope that too) but in the sense of all of my life feeling integrated, whole, so that everything makes sense in context of the rest - the books I write harmonising with my friendships, my love of slow travel harmonising with concern for the environment, my curiosity about the world making sense in the books, newspapers and Substacks I read.
How in the world can only 2 values be selected?! This is harder than algebra. My two values that reflect the life I want to have are Belonging and Gratitude (throwing in Curious for good measure).
Currently, my life embodies UNbalance, Recognition, and Humor. I think I use humor to cut through my insecurities, but aside from that minor insight, I could almost see humor as one of the values I would keep in my reflection of life
I love this Tanya! It is so hard to narrow them down isn’t it? I think I had a list of about 10 at one point! I love that you chose belonging. Such a great one.
Oh, I LOVE this conversation! Thank you for creating this beautiful space, Anna 💕
The values that speak to my soul are…
-Connection (with myself, my loved ones, and nature)
-Leaning into slowness & savoring the moment
-Simplicity (My word/intention for this year)
-Authenticity
-Kindness/Compassion
-Well Being (Nourishing myself from the inside out)
-Freedom
Not long ago, I lived in hustle mode, feeling stressed and not always prioritizing my wellbeing…my days don’t always perfectly align with my values, but I can feel the shifts taking place in my levels of joy and ease as I intentionally shift my energy and what I prioritize in my days. 💖
I'll start!
1. The values of the life I wish to lead are; Courage, Faith, Peace and Wisdom.
2. The values of the life I was leading were; Wealth, Success, Knowledge and Responsibility
Now none of those in the second list are inherently bad, they just didn't match the life that I wanted to live. I was chasing degree after degree after degree, looking for knowledge, when in fact I wanted to gain deep wisdom from others, from nature. I was also living a pretty fearful life. Scared of being alone, of not having a job, of what it meant to be successful. If I chatted with people from my past lives I wanted them to know my life had "moved on". It was such an interesting exercise.
The values of the life I aspire to lead are Balance, Contentment, Curiosity, Authenticity, Belonging, (and Health because that underpins it all).
I agree with you Victoria, I feel like health should be the foundation and a given central pillar for everyone. I love the ones that you have chosen. Really beautiful selection. What made you pick curiosity? It’s such a great one.
My husband says it’s the word he most associates with me because I am always interested in the ‘why’ behind things; I like to understand why things are the way they are, look at different perspectives and see what life is like for other people to get an understanding of different experiences. And because I once asked him why monkeys ate bananas and he laughed at that for days (but he didn’t know the answer 😂).
This definitely sounds like curious is an amazing word for you. I wonder how that might filter into your life as you go forward? How exciting to build aspects of your life around such an interesting value like that!
It’s definitely something I am leaning into as I get older. It’s really important to me to understand things from varying perspectives and to seek out new information to challenge existing beliefs but also just to maintain my wonder at the world. There is so much to see and learn and being open and curious to it all is a way of keeping the magic alive (at least, for me).
Oh my goodness. Wonder! What an amazing value that would be to have ❤️
My value is integrity. Not just in the sense of honesty (although I hope that too) but in the sense of all of my life feeling integrated, whole, so that everything makes sense in context of the rest - the books I write harmonising with my friendships, my love of slow travel harmonising with concern for the environment, my curiosity about the world making sense in the books, newspapers and Substacks I read.
Wow Anna I love this. I think there are so many ways to view integrity. The connectedness of everything sounds wonderful.
How in the world can only 2 values be selected?! This is harder than algebra. My two values that reflect the life I want to have are Belonging and Gratitude (throwing in Curious for good measure).
Currently, my life embodies UNbalance, Recognition, and Humor. I think I use humor to cut through my insecurities, but aside from that minor insight, I could almost see humor as one of the values I would keep in my reflection of life
I love this Tanya! It is so hard to narrow them down isn’t it? I think I had a list of about 10 at one point! I love that you chose belonging. Such a great one.
Kindness
That is a beautiful one to guide your life with.
Oh, I LOVE this conversation! Thank you for creating this beautiful space, Anna 💕
The values that speak to my soul are…
-Connection (with myself, my loved ones, and nature)
-Leaning into slowness & savoring the moment
-Simplicity (My word/intention for this year)
-Authenticity
-Kindness/Compassion
-Well Being (Nourishing myself from the inside out)
-Freedom
Not long ago, I lived in hustle mode, feeling stressed and not always prioritizing my wellbeing…my days don’t always perfectly align with my values, but I can feel the shifts taking place in my levels of joy and ease as I intentionally shift my energy and what I prioritize in my days. 💖