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Goals based on values
Personal development is all about making changes, and almost all advisors will tell you that in order to change you will have to identify some goals and objectives.
It's pretty tempting to set goals by sitting down and writing out a list of stuff you want to have or things you want to do. For example: Get a new SUV by the end of the year; spend two weeks in Europe next year; save enough for a down payment on a new house.
I'm not going to say those goals aren't any good. Maybe they're just right. The point is that I don't know whether they come from your values rather than from TV commercials that keep saying you should acquire more stuff and do more things.
I believe that a person's goals must reflect that person's values. A better way to say it is that your goals must reflect your values. We're talking here about your own values, and not the values of your friends, parents, neighbors, or anyone else.
So, goal-setting has to start with making an inventory of your values.
What are the real, bottom-line things that make up your set of values? Maybe they are protecting your family, following your religion's tenets, preserving the environment, eating healthy food, having compassion for other creatures, having a steady income.
I can't tell you what your values are. Nobody else can tell you what your values are. They are your values, and you are the only one who knows what they are.
Your values may change as time goes by. That's OK. The important thing is to identify what your values are right now.
For example, here are some of mine right now: being sober, increasing my conscious contact with God, taking care of business matters, taking care of myself (physically, mentally, spiritually), taking care of my family.
Once you know your values, you can then start making some goals and objectives.
How about you?
- Do you know what your own values are?
- Can you make a list of them?
- Can you think of one thing from one category that you can change for one week?
Ross Runkel, Post Office Box 1031, Salem, Oregon
97308-1031.
Phone 503-399-8028. Fax 503-566-8844. email Ross@LawMemo.Com
