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How to define your core values to build a purposeful life, business, and personal brand
It has been a while since I wanted to write this blog post and speak in more depth about values and the role they play in our everyday lives and in our businesses. Defining my core values was the most important thing I did for myself and my business. It changed completely the way I show up online, the content I create, the way I run my business, and how I feel about myself and my personal brand.
I find that it’s not spoken about in the online space enough. Everybody is speaking about building a brand foundation, following strategies, and blueprints that will help you to get exactly where you would like to be. The problem with this approach is that it’s too general and it doesn’t take into consideration your unique personality. There can be some universal truths and universal information, but you always need to trust yourself first and check out if it feels aligned with you.
It’s probably hard to accept, but there is no unique strategy or magic pill that will work the same way for everybody. It might work for some people, but there is no guarantee that it will work for you.
Without knowing yourself, what you value in life and knowing exactly what you would like your business to be about, you will be lost, you will compare yourself, and you will be living by false, somebody else’s values because you didn’t take the time to figure out your own.
And then you will wonder why you feel unhappy, why you hide, why you don’t take action, why you don’t embrace yourself, and why your business doesn’t work out the way you want it to.
The moment you define your core values, know exactly why they’re important to you and you start taking action every single day based on your values. Your actions start to feel more aligned, and effortless and your life starts to feel more purposeful.
Why your core values are important
Values determine how you will behave throughout your life. They are like your personal inner compass that guides you, helps you to set a direction, and helps you to stay on track during your journey.
Knowing and living your core values is essential for your happiness as a human being. Different people have different values, and it’s wonderful. Your values will be unique to you and different from any person in this world. Isn’t it amazing to have your personal blueprint for your happiness and well-being?
Your values define your authentic self. Your most authentic and deepest self is driven by these values. It’s your values that fuel it. This highest self wants more from life and it can help you to live an extraordinary life if you let it guide you.
When you take action based on your values, often it may seem effortless, more natural and joyful. As it’s aligned with your inner authentic self. You’re not imitating anybody, pretending to be somebody you’re not, not trying to play a role or striving to be liked by everybody. No wonder values make it so much easier to get into the flow state.
It’s very hard to build an aligned and sustainable business and personal brand when you don’t know what your values are and when you don’t infuse your personality into your business and brand.
It’s not easy to tap into your subconscious mind and discover your core personal unique values. I hope that you’re ready to make inner work, to dedicate time and effort to discoverer your values.
How to discover your top core values
“Your values create your internal compass that can navigate how you make decisions in your life. If you compromise your core values, you go nowhere.”
There are many techniques you can use to help you to discover your values. The simplest one is to find a basic value list on the internet, go through it, and choose the top 10 that resonate with you the most and that feel the most aligned. It’s the first step. Remember that there is no such thing as ”right” or ”wrong” values”. You might want to go through several value lists as they all might be different and contain different values.
Often after doing this exercise you might discover that there is a huge gap between your values and your actions. Don’t freak out, and don’t beat yourself up. It’s just a reminder that nobody is perfect and that if you never spent any time in your life figuring your values out it was impossible to be guided by them and aligned all your actions to your core values.
Then I will recommend spending time every day or every week to journal about them, to think about why they are important to you. The reason you would like to spend so much time thinking and journaling about them is that often we pick up values because of social and cultural pressure, or adopt some from where when we were children. It means that some of your values can be inauthentic and it’s okay. That’s exactly where self-discovery work and journaling will help you to really think deeply about your value list and choose the most authentic values that resonate with you on the deepest level.
Don’t be in a hurry, don’t rush. Sometimes it takes time and effort to dig really deep to be able to discover your core values. It’s a process. As you grow evolve and find out more about your authentic self you might find that your values are changing and evolving with you and it’s okay. It’s not a static list that you create once and leave it out there. You need to go back to your list regularly and go through it. See how every value feels and if it’s aligned.
My values changed quite a bit during the last year and I’m sure that they will keep evolving the more I discover my authentic self. Now my core values are acceptance, authenticity, courage, curiosity, freedom, fun, mindfulness, persistence, self-growth, and open-mindedness. Feel free to steal some of mine if it feels aligned with your authentic self.
How living by your values will change your life
I wish I was able to learn about the importance of values earlier in my life. I could have saved so much time and started doing what I really wanted earlier. But nobody really speaks about it in a traditional educational system. Everybody just wants to put you in the box, to make you fit in and obey.
When you live in alignment with your values, you feel happier and more fulfilled in your life. You don’t need to rely on somebody else’s opinion, or advice, look at what others are doing. You have an inner compass that guides you through your life.
Your core values help you to find your life purpose – a thing that you came to this earth to do.
Your values help to make decision-making so much easier. Be it work, personal life, or business-related decisions. It doesn’t really matter.
Your values help you to set up your goals easier and get rid of inauthentic goals. Your new goals will be fewer, and more aligned with your values. Getting rid of old goals that weren’t serving you anymore will help you to create value-aligned goals that make you actually happy. Sometimes we have to let go of old goals and beliefs to create space for something new.
Your core values will help you to live as your most authentic self. As your authentic self is driven by your values.
Your values play a major role in developing your self-confidence and building your business and personal brand in a more sustainable and aligned way.
Your values will sustain you on your journey and won’t let you measure your success excursively by your achievements and the amount of money you make. Achieving any goal can take time. It might happen sometimes that you don’t even achieve the goal. It doesn’t mean that you don’t need to set any goals for yourself of course. But you can experience instant success when you live in alignment with your values, you will appreciate your unique journey more and detach yourself from the outcome more. True success is being able to live in alignment with your values every single day.
Your values let you be happy and satisfied now, in the present moment. How many times have you said to yourself I will be happy once I achieve this goal or when I will be able to buy this thing? This kind of thinking makes it impossible t be happy now, in the present moment. It creates a lot of pressure, anxiety and unnecessary frustration. Because guess what? Once you achieve your goal you will start hustling and looking forward to another goal to achieve to make you happy. But when you choose to act on your values every single day, it creates instant success and satisfaction now in the present moment.
And remember that values aren’t strict rules. Watch very carefully a perfectionist inside of you. Don’t beat yourself up if you cannot live daily in every area of your life by your values. Simply be mindful, and flexible and let your values guide you. The more you practice the better you will get.
Core values are essential for your business and personal brand
When you’re a personal brand it’s vital to do the work on your core values, and not just define some general brand and business values. It’s the foundation of everything. It will determine the way you work, serve your clients, show up online, create content, the way you feel about yourself, and run your business on a daily basis. I hope that by now you see the importance of doing this work.
Here are several important things values can do for your business:
Values provide you with inspiration and motivation to do the things that need to be done. They help you to keep going when things get tough. Just think about it, sometimes achieving your big goals can take years, but you can still choose to act and live in alignment with your core values every single day. It will help to provide you with instant fulfilment.
Your core values will provide you with fulfilment as you’re moving towards your big goal. It’s amazing that you can find fulfilment every single day by living in alignment with your values, even if your goal isn’t achieved yet. It will sustain you on your journey. It’s important to feel happy and aligned, and actually enjoy yourself and the work you do while being on your business journey. You have to learn to be excited about the effort and action itself. The biggest part of our business journey will be not achieving a goal but showing up every single day whether you feel like it or not.
Values guide you. They give you a sense of direction. By following your values you always make sure that your goals are aligned. Pursuing the wrong goals leads so often to disappointment.
Your values will help you to show up as your authentic self, show up with the best possible energy that like a magnet will attract your people and community. The services, products and content that you will create when you feel aligned, energetic, and great about yourself will be so different and so much more beneficial for your business and brand.
Your values will allow you to be more focused on your unique path. As your path doesn’t look like anybody else’s. You will stop watching others, comparing, and being jealous of their success, but instead will focus on creating your own unique success.
Your values will help you to create the best products and services for your audience. They will be unique to you, and extraordinary. It’s the moment when you will realize that you’re actually not in competition with anybody and that nobody can create what you create.
Your core values tie together the tinniest little everyday action to the big long-term goals you set for your business.
Your unique set of core values will help to you create a unique and authentic personal brand that will make you recognizable and trustworthy among your target audience. As nobody can be you. Nobody lived your story. Nobody has your unique voice. Only you can do you.
How many times you didn’t do something that you have always wanted just because it felt uncomfortable and you didn’t feel like doing it? Our brain tries to do all possible to avoid discomfort, seek pleasure and do what is comfortable. So what can help us to take action even when we’re tired, miserable, bored, anxious, frustrated and not “in the mood”? It’s your values. You do what you promised yourself you will do. It’s the moment when you start building your self-confidence and trust yourself more, and step up into the position of leader you were born to be.
Final thoughts
Defining your core values is the most important thing you can do for yourself, your business and your personal brand. It’s the foundation of everything. It’s a key to living a happy, fulfilling life filled with purpose. Being guided and taking daily action based on your values will allow you to be your authentic self, carve your own unique path to success, and sustain you on your journey.
It might take time, it might be not easy, and it’s okay. Take your time, be flexible, and practice self-love and self-compassion while you’re on your self-discovery journey. And you have no other choice but to discover a hidden treasure, a creative genius inside of yourself, your authentic self that is driven and guided by your core values. It will help you to create your own path to success.