Welcome to another month of a 30 Day Challenge. If you're new to this blog, July was a Minimalism challenge. August is about learning to live simply. Day 1 is probably the hardest day, they're much easier after this. Here we go:
Day 1: Identify your values - how do you do that unless you get a good understanding of what a value is? A value is something you feel is deserving, of importance or great worth, usefulness. It's about your principles and standards that will govern your behavior. It's your judgement of what you feel is important in your life. So what in your life is truly most important to you? Here are a few examples of values some people hold:
their faith - their marriage - their kids - their family & friends - giving back/donating/charity/volunteering - education - personal growth - a strong work ethic (but not in a sense of workaholics, not at the expense of more important values like family) - authenticity - honesty - adventure - compassion - justice - kindness - citizenship - humor - determination - recognition - optimism - leadership - self-respect - pride - security - wealth - trustworthiness - wisdom - leisure - status - security - responsibility
Which of these are most important to you? There's no right or wrong answer, although some will prove to produce better results than others. For example, kindness, marriage, giving back will produce better results than chasing material wealth, pride and ego, and recognition. Chasing leisure aggressively before you've earned the right and financial stability it takes to do that can produce disastrous results too. Choose wisely.
As for me, many are important values but which ones are my top priorities that will allow me to decide and discern what I do/don't let into my life? My faith is number one. Without that, there's no hope, no reason, no purpose. I understand that's not the case for everyone, and I'm not saying it needs to be everyone's top priority - it just is for me. Next comes my marriage. If deciding between making my marriage work or pleasing some group or organization, marriage wins every time. Next are my kids (with friends and family close behind). I have a large group of people in my life that I'm very thankful for, but a very intentional smaller group that I can share intimately with, and that's my third priority. Adding value to others' lives is my number four. Through that I am generous, supportive, I work in women's ministry, volunteer, teach, give, share, etc. If I don't add value in a relationship, then I'm just a "taker". Taking is NOT on my list of values. Neither is Looking out for number one. Neither is getting "my fair share". I'm just not wired that way. My fifth and final value to mention today would be authenticity. I am honest with people, I am who I am no matter who I'm with and where I am. That's not to say I'll give people a piece of my mind without thought to being respectful, or if it's the right place/time to do it. It means I'm an open book. I hide nothing from my past. I tell it like it is as far as I'm concerned. I share what I learned from my mistakes. What you see is what you get.
Take some time before you go to sleep tonight and list out what may be some of your top values. It will help with the rest of the month when it comes to prioritizing your home, time, work, health, and more. Remember, many of these can be of importance to you, but what matters MOST? In what areas do you have personal boundaries or lines in the sand you refuse to ever cross? Those areas will help you focus for the next 30 days.
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