Knowing what you value in life

How knowing your values can help you be successful and happy

“I know I should be doing it, but it just doesn’t feel right to me.” Have you said or thought something similar in the past? How did this misalignment make you feel? You might have noticed feelings of discomfort, confusion, worry, or preoccupation. As a result it’s only natural that you might have avoided certain tasks at work or felt unable to move forward in your personal life because of these feelings and thoughts.

Did you consider exploring what lies behind these feelings? Besides our analytical thinking, we often use our personal judgment or a values-based compass to navigate life - often this is done automatically or subconsciously. Sometimes our internal compass can point in the opposite direction of our direction of travel, which can lead to difficult feelings and thoughts. If this happens, it can be helpful to take some time to consider how we want to respond to our values shaping our feelings and our thinking about a topic.

In counselling, clarifying values can serve multiple purposes. Knowing what values are important to us can help us identify potential value conflicts in our personal or professional life. We may need to step away from areas or people that are not aligned with our values or find a different perspective or approach towards a topic or relationship.

We all have finite resources at work and outside of work. Identifying our key values can be very impactful as it allows us to proactively invest in areas that feel meaningful to us. It can also help us be more boundaried around topics that we are not as invested in. Some of the value work will translate into our personal lives. We might decide to invest more time into our health and wellbeing, or to plan in more time to spend with our immediate family. We might decide that a friendship has drifted apart and that you are not on the same page anymore about topics you care deeply about.

And some of the value work will shape our career. Working in line with our values can boost motivation and lead to higher performance at work. Knowing our values can also inform our long-term career planning as it help us understand if a current or prospective role is a good fit for us. Are you seeing the collaboration you desire, or the freedom you are seeking? If our values don’t align with our work, we have a few options. We might decide to try to shape our current role to be more in line with a key value, or identify a long-term career goal which is a good fit for our values and interests. If we are dealing with a ‘gravity problem’ which presents a substantial conflict of values or work ethic, we might also decide to change to a different career path that is a better fit for us.


It’s important to remember that our values evolve and are shaped by our life events. Therefore, it’s useful to take stock on a regular basis. If this topic seems relevant to you, this is a gentle nudge to take some time review the relationship you have with your value system.

What do you hold dear in life? Please take a look at the list of values below to encourage insights and personal growth.

Here are three reflections for you:

💡 What are your four most important values?

💡 How aligned are you with your values?

💡 What will help you live a value-based life?

In this blog series, we will be looking at topics relating to workplace wellbeing. For personalised support, please get in touch.

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