Core Values Exercise

I started doing this exercise with my life coaching clients, but saw its necessity with some of my wedding couples, as well. We get our information from many sources and many of us are taught to memorize facts without any challenges of critical thinking. So, it's an important thing to consider What You Believe. 

CORE VALUES EXERCISE

Below is a list of values.

1. Take out a piece of paper or a notebook and your favorite pen and as you read through the list, write down any of the words that ring true for you. Perhaps it's personal traits that are important to you or maybe you need to live in a word with these values. While the list is pretty exhaustive, the tense of the word may not be correct, so change it. Or maybe the word is not quite right...so pull up a thesaurus and search for word that feels right.

Core Values List

Acceptance, Accomplishment, Achievement, Acquisition, Adventure, Alignment, Altruism, Amusement, Appreciation, Assistance,  Attractiveness, Authenticity, Awareness

Beauty, Being, Bliss, Benevolence

Calm, Care, Charity, Cleanliness, Coach, Community,  Compassion, Comprehending, Connection, Consciousness, Consideration, Constancy, Contentment, Contribution, Cooperation, Courage, Create, Creativity, Credibility

Danger, Daring, Delight, Dedicated, Dependability, Determination, Dignity, Discovery, Discrimination, Distinguish, Diversity, Durability

Economic Security, Education, Effectiveness, Elegance, Emotional Well-Being, Empathy, Encouragement, Energy, Enlightenment, Entertainment, Enthusiasm, Environment, Equality, Ethical, Excellence, Excitement, Experience, Experimentation, Expertise, Exquisiteness

Fairness, Faith, Fame, Family, Fearless, Feeling good, Fitness, Flexibility, Freedom, Friendship, Fun

Generosity, Goodness, Grace, Gratitude, Guidance

Happiness, Harmony, Health, Honesty, Honor, Hope, Humility

Imagination, Improvement, Independence, Influence, Information, Inner peace, Innovation, Inspiration, Instruction, Integrity, Intelligence, Inventiveness

Joy, Justice

Kindness, Knowledge

Laughter, Leadership, Learning, Legacy, Love, Loyalty

Magnificence, Mastery, Meaning, Merriment

Nobility, Nurturing

Obedience, Observation, Openness, Opportunity, Optimism, Order, Organization, Originality

Peace, Peacefulness, Perseverance, Personal Development, Planning, Play, Pleasure, Politeness, Positive attitude, Power, Preparation, Presence, Professionalism, Proficiency, Provider, Purity

Quest

Radiance, Recognition, Relatedness, Relationships,  Relaxation, Reliability,  Religious/Religion, Resourcefulness, Respect, Responsibility, Responsiveness, Risk

Safety, Schooling, Self-awareness, Self-worth, Sensuality, Serenity, Service, Simplicity, Spirituality, Stability, Stimulation, Strength, Success, Superiority, Support

Teaching, Tenderness, Touch, Tranquility, Trust, Truth

Understanding, Unity

Valiance, Victory, Vigor, Virtuous, Vision

Wealth, Welcome, Wholeness, Winning, Wisdom

Youth

Zen

2. Now that you have your list of words, it's time to do some editing. Bring your list down to 10 values.

3. Now 5. Yeah, I know it's hard...

4. Encourage your partner or spouse to do the exercise, as well.

5. Sit down and talk about any major differences or overlaps. How do these manifest themselves in your life? How do you wish they did?

Please share your experience and results below!