The Power of Knowing Yourself: How to Uncover Your Core Values and Strengths for Successful Goal-Setting
Mastering Self-Control is The Key to Effective Time Management
The achievement of your goals goes hand in hand with effective time management. However, time management relies heavily on your ability to exercise self-control and self-discipline. Without these essential qualities, your time management efforts are bound to falter, making it difficult for you to achieve your objectives. Whether you are naturally inclined towards self-control or tend to procrastinate like I used to, aligning your values and beliefs with your goals can greatly enhance your self-discipline. The more committed you are to your goals and the more they align with your core values, the more motivated you will be to work towards them. This increased motivation, in turn, makes it easier for you to exercise self-control and manage your time effectively.
Why Goal-Setting is Essential for Personal and Professional Growth?
After thirty years of extensive research on life satisfaction, it has been found that having clear-cut goals in life that give us a sense of purpose and direction is essential for happiness. Your time and life are incredibly valuable, and spending years accomplishing something that could have been achieved in a few months is a waste of precious resources. Living without clear goals is like driving in a thick fog. No matter how well engineered or powerful your car is, you drive slowly, hesitantly, making little progress on even the smoothest road.
In 2008, a groundbreaking study led by Bruce Headey followed over 3,500 people from around the world for fifteen years to determine what made their lives meaningful and happy. The study found that the happiest people are those with clear-cut life goals, who are willing to take risks without making excuses or giving up, and who have goals in the areas of friendship, love, and helping others.
Studies on New Year's resolutions have also demonstrated that setting goals correctly and for the right reasons can make a significant difference in a person's life, and even set them up for success in the future. By setting clear and achievable goals, you can gain a sense of direction and purpose, and work towards a happier and more fulfilling life.
“An average person with average talents and ambition and average education can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society, if that person has clear, focused goals.”
You Are Happier When You Set Goals Based on Your Values
Research has shown that attaching our goals to our values increases the likelihood of adopting and pursuing them. Researchers are also finding that people are happier when they know and embrace the personal qualities that come most easily to them—their talents—and use them in new and clever ways to accomplish their goals.
“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”
The Power of Core Values in Task Commitment
The highest achievers in any field are often described as not just talented, but also as "tenacious," "hardworking," "passionate," and "stubborn in the face of obstacles." In fact, follow-through has been found to be the best predictor of significant accomplishment, surpassing even SAT scores and high school rank.
But how can you develop this kind of focus and passion for your goals? It all starts with truly believing in what you're trying to achieve. When your goals and every task you undertake are aligned with your core values, you can achieve the level of commitment and perseverance necessary to succeed.
“Ambition isn’t enough to achieve greatness when it isn’t combined with effort.”
How to Find Your Values?
When it comes to goal setting, productivity, and time management, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What may work for one person may not work for another. Therefore, it is essential to experiment with different approaches and find the ones that work best for you.
While there are numerous strategies out there, I have come across a few that have proven to be effective. However, it's worth noting that these methods often overlap, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. As I continue to explore this broad topic of goal setting, I will keep updating this article.
The objective of these exercises is to help you identify your three to five fundamental values that deeply resonate with you. By doing this, you can align your goals with what matters most to you and give yourself a better chance of staying motivated and committed to achieving them.
Favourite Characters
Think of your favorite characters from books, movies, plays, or any other type of literature or popular media. Reflect on the qualities that you admire most in each of them and write them down. This can help you to identify the values that are important to you and that you try to live by.
Already Accomplished Goals
Take a moment to write down five goals you’ve already accomplished and that you enjoy thinking about or telling others about. Think about why it makes you happy? What strengths helped you to accomplish these goals?
Go Back in time
Identify the times when you were happiest
What were you doing?
What factors contributed to your happiness?
Identify the times when you were most proud
Why were you proud?
What factors contributed to your feelings of pride?
Identify the times when you were most fulfilled and satisfied
What need or desire was fulfilled?
How and why did the experience give your life meaning?
What other factors contributed to your feelings of fulfillment?
Answer these questions honestly and then write down five of your core values that came from this exercise.
See Yourself as a Person You Want to Be
This is very similar to the Favourite Characters exercise. You might want to split the values into different sections of your life. For example, Me, Work/Career, Communication, Romance, etc. Put 3-5 values to each of them.
Example:
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Me
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Work and Career
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Communication
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Romance
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Prioritize Your Top Values
Narrowing down your core values to a maximum of 5 may be a daunting task, but it's essential for effective goal setting. Having too many values can be counterproductive, as it complicates the process and makes it harder to achieve your goals.
One exercise that can be helpful in narrowing down your core values to a maximum of five is the prioritization exercise.
First, write down all of your identified core values. Then, rank them in order of importance to you. To do this, you can use a scale of 1-10 or simply number them in order of priority.
Once you have ranked all of your values, take a look at the top five or six. Consider which ones are most closely aligned with the direction you want to take in your life. What person you would like to be?
Next, consider if any of the values on your list are similar or can be combined into a broader category. For example, if you have values like "honesty" and "integrity," you may consider grouping them together under the broader value of "integrity."
Finally, reflect on your choices and ask yourself if you are comfortable and confident with the final five core values you have chosen. Remember that your values can change over time, so it's okay to revisit this exercise periodically to ensure that your values still align with your goals and direction in life.
Identifying and understanding your values is a crucial and challenging exercise. Personal values are a fundamental part of who you are and who you aspire to be. By becoming more aware of these values, you can use them as a guide to make the best choices in any situation.
Life is full of decisions, and sometimes it's difficult to determine what matters most. In such situations, relying on your values can be helpful and reassuring, as they can serve as a strong guiding force to point you in the right direction.
Where to Go From Here?
Congratulations on completing the exercise to identify your core values! This is an important step towards setting meaningful goals for yourself. Now that you have a clearer understanding of what truly matters to you, you can use this knowledge to:
1. Craft Daily Affirmations That Align With Your Values.
Daily affirmations are positive statements that you can repeat to yourself to help reinforce your beliefs and focus your mind on your goals. By repeating affirmations that align with your core values, you can stay motivated and centered as you work towards achieving your goals.
2. Set Your Goals
To set effective goals, it's important to make sure they align with your core values. Use your values as a guide to set goals that are truly meaningful to you. This will help you stay focused and motivated as you work towards achieving them.
Remember that goal setting is a process, and it may take some time to refine your goals to ensure they are aligned with your values. Be patient and stay focused on what truly matters to you. With persistence and dedication, you can achieve your goals and live a fulfilling life that is true to your values.
Sources and inspiration:
Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide - Caroline Adams Miller, Michael B. Frisch
Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want - Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible - Brian Tracy
