It’s a Big topic…Values, right up there alongside of Purpose and Meaning. When I come up against one of these Big topics I try to bring it down to earth, and make it understandable, simple and actionable in an everyday sort of way. Why? ‘Cause…
Living your values is an ‘absolute must’ if you are Highly Sensitive.
Why is it so important for HSPs to know and live by their values? Easy, values are the cornerstone of your true identity and character. (As demonstrated by our fabulous feline fashionista Freddie who lives her values surrounded by nature, living peacefully with birds and squirrels alike, in the California mountains!)
Since values form part of the very foundation of who you are, not living in alignment with your values can result in not liking yourself and feeling like a fraud. On the other hand, when you do something aligned with your values it just feels ‘right’! When you live by your Values you…
Live from a place of Truth and Integrity.
Connect to your Real Self.
Live, love and work in a way that suits your Soul.
When you know your values you can articulate them clearly and communicate them through what you do and how you live, just like our Freddie.
Everyday values honour who you are and what you believe in.
So now you are thinking, “That all sounds grand, but how do I do that?”
Well, here’s what works for me. I configure my values on two different levels, Guiding Values and Everyday Values. My Guiding Values (the BIG ones that belong to my Higher Self) guide my very existence on the planet. But BIG values can be intangible and hard to nail down, so it can be difficult to know how to act on them directly. I look for ways to reflect Big values in how I live each and every day. My Everyday Values are expressed through loving and caring for animals, gardening, teaching and inspiring women, communicating with kindness being generous and respectful, living in a soulful way and looking for meaning in all I do in life. That I can do.
Looking at values in this two-tiered way helps to create a roadmap to what is, or is not, important in your life. Values, both big and small, simplify life by guiding and informing choices, decisions, actions, work and relationships.
Knowing your values definitely clarifies and defines how you live your life, but it sometimes means having to make tough choices. The alternative, however, will eventually lead you down the road to burnout. You will find yourself in the 4Ds of Burnout being disappointed, discouraged, disillusioned and eventually completely disheartened. Not living your values leads to tension, dissonance, discontent, and even depression. Ultimately, you might feel like you are selling your soul. (Been there, done that, not pretty!)
Knowing your values isn’t a ‘one-shot’ deal, you will need to continually review them, refine them, expand them and explore more deeply what they mean in your life. When you do this you will find more and more creative ways to express them in your daily life. To help this process along here are a few questions that you can ask yourself now and in the future:
- What are my most important Guiding Values?
- Am I living my Values in a everyday kind of way?
- Is what I am doing in my life serving my values?
- Will this action move me closer to honouring my values or farther away?
- What values must I honour or feel like a part of me dies?
Living so that you can express your values in an ordinary, everyday sort of way leads to a more powerful, ethical and fulfilling life. Living out-of-sync with the very things that bring meaning into your life, your values, means never truly living a balanced, harmonious or purposeful life. Big questions, big answers, don’t avoid them.
When you are Highly Sensitive living a good life means living
a ‘value driven’ life.
Until Next Time…Grab Life by the Crown!
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