The Importance of Core Values (And How They Bring Meaning to Your Life)

Do you sometimes feel unsatisfied with the way your life is playing out?

You might be working a high-paying job but feel like you’re not spending your time meaningfully. Or leading a great team, but in a company you’re not proud to work for.

Maybe you’re stuck in a relationship with someone who just isn’t quite right.

On the surface, it might look like you’re living a life of fulfillment, but something is off.

This isn’t unusual, and you’re not alone. Many of my clients come to me with these exact feelings. Although they should feel satisfied in their life, they somehow don’t.

I’ve been through it myself, too.

It’s not a sign that you’re ungrateful for your life – it’s a sign that you’re disconnected from your truth. You’re living a life that is fundamentally divorced from your deepest values, and the daily imbalance you feel is a manifestation of that.

This begs the question – how do you restore balance, and find direction when you’re lost?

You start by identifying and understanding your core values and beliefs.

What Are Core Values?

Core values are the beliefs, principles, and ideals that you hold closest to your heart.

They guide you to make decisions quickly and confidently, prioritize your goals and relationships, facilitate self-reflection, and improve your mental and physical health. 

When you place core values at the base of everything you do, you experience increased self-confidence in all domains of your life.

The inverse occurs when you live without core values – you risk manifesting major disruptions in your life such as physical illness and mental stress.

But putting a name to your core values isn’t always easy. To help you see how well you know yourself and what you stand for, try this quiz I designed.

How Core Values Can Bring Meaning to Your Career

According to a report by Asana, over 62% of workers are being swept up by an epidemic of burnout, described as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

When you’re stuck in a career void of meaning, you’re likely to emotionally check out. You only have one life, after all, so it makes sense that spending it in a way that doesn’t fulfill you could cause you chronic stress. 

But you can remedy this – by living and working according to your fundamental beliefs.

Building a career around the things you value is a bulwark against burnout. When you find meaning and purpose in your career, you are inherently more content with your work. 

Suddenly work doesn’t feel like a daily eight-hour chore that needs to be completed before dinner. It takes on an entirely different dimension and feels like time well spent, accomplishment, and satisfaction.

So when you’ve identified your core values, bring them into your work. It doesn’t always mean a radical shift in career. For example, if you value humor or fun, you don’t have to leave your corporate job and become a circus clown. You can get a burst of happiness by organizing an improv workshop for your team or making someone laugh in a meeting.

Sometimes a career creates a conflict with your values. Let’s say that your family is one of your most cherished core values, but you were working at a job that required a long commute, pulling overtime, or frequent out-of-town meetings. 

The knowledge that you’re unable to spend as much time with your family as you want is weighing heavily on you, so you make the decision to quit your job. While difficult, you now have the opportunity to look for a role that allows you to work from home or take weekends off. 

Regardless, you’ve found a way for your work to align with your truth, and that’s indescribably powerful.

How Important Are Core Values in Leadership?

Core values are essential if you want to become an effective leader. 

The foundational guiding principles that core values provide help leaders make decisions and solve problems.

By understanding their core values, leaders can ensure that their actions align with their organization’s values. 

Let’s say you value integrity. In this case, you will strive to make honest and ethical decisions. If collaboration stands out as a core value, you will make sure to involve others in decision-making processes.

Maybe promoting and maintaining good physical and mental health is important to you. It stands to reason that you’ll then understand the importance of taking breaks, and motivate your team to do the same.

So how can you revitalize your team’s mission, vision, and values?

• Identify the core purpose of working together — this is your mission.
• Develop a collaborative vision for what you hope to accomplish together. 
• Define your team’s core values to influence how they work together.

As we progress, people and businesses become more health-conscious, flexible, and diverse. These are examples of core values at an organizational level that leaders can support in the workplace.

The data reflects this. A recent poll by Gallup found that 61% of employees wanted greater work-life balance and better personal well-being, 43% wanted vaccination policies that aligned with their beliefs, and 42% wanted more diversity and inclusion. 

This allows you to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation that leads to more productive relationships. 

The Role of Personal Core Values in Your Relationships

Personal core values are a guide on how to spend your time and energy. 

They help you identify when you’re spending too much time on things that conflict with your values and set boundaries accordingly. 

This allows you to prioritize time for things you do value. 

For example, if you value kindness, spend less time with friends who gossip and more time with those that enrich your life. If you value excellence, spend time with mentors or friends that excel in their chosen pursuits.

Likewise, core values play a crucial role in family dynamics. Strong family values form a solid foundation for a happy household. They help create a sense of belonging and establish strong bonds and are also invaluable when it comes to making big decisions that affect the entire family.

For example, if your family values eating healthily, you might allocate more of your household budget to buying more expensive but healthier foods. Or if you value education, you might make the decision to move to a better school district for your children.

Family members who understand and respect each other’s values can also work together more effectively and support each other in their individual pursuits.

Psychology Today explains that those in relationships established based on core values find it easier to overcome challenges together. 

Being clear on what matters to you at this stage of your life will help form healthy connections – you’ll also recognize when another individual’s values just don’t match your own.

To make sure your core values align with those around you, ask yourself these questions:

• Who are the people around me?
• What feelings am I experiencing as a result of these relationships?
• What’s the emotional or physical cost of these experiences?

Having a set of core values will help you make decisions quickly and confidently, prioritize your goals and relationships, facilitate self-reflection, and improve both mental and physical health. 

Take time to consider your beliefs and develop a set of core values that resonate, then strive to prioritize these values in all aspects of your life.

That being said, it’s not always easy to excavate your deepest truths – but I have developed some simple tools and processes to guide you through it step by step.

Check out my online course to help you start living your truth and discovering your core values today.