True happiness is found being consistent to your values

I think the point is that you don’t have to wait. You can be happy right now! True happiness is within reach. All you have to do is ‘be’ that value.

SMART goals are not obselete

It is not that goals are bad. SMART goals are actually a great idea, especially after you have defined your values. Because they give you measurable, actionable things to achieve in your life. Goals are important. They are just not the whole picture, because as we mentioned, once you get there, there will always be something else.

The point with values is that you can always act consistently with your values. Values provide a way of being and a direction in life. Goals are the steps that help us to move in that direction.

How to work out what your values are?

If you are wondering how to work out what values are meaningful to you, then there are a variety of ways that you can learn this about yourself.

One way is to think about the different areas of your life, such as family, friends, work, study, community, health, spirituality, leisure etc. Thinking about what you want to achieve in those areas can be a good start (write it down!). Then you can ask yourself ‘why’ do I want to achieve that goal? And then when you have answered that ask ‘why is that important?’ If you keep doing this, you will get to that base level value, which is the important thing underlying all your work in that area.

There are other exercises to work out your values. I really love this exercise written by Brendan Baker on the website The Start of Happiness. It is great to articulate a list, on paper, of the things that are meaningful to me.

What did you find out about yourself?

This exercise brought a lot of joy into my life, because, armed with this list, it is very, very clear to me, the kinds of things that I should be doing with my time. This exercise also helped me to identify common values behind seemingly different activities, like the value of the ‘experiences’ in say, cooking and eating a healthy meal and the value of ‘culture’ in going to an art gallery, for example. It helps me to see the value behind things that make me happy, for example cleaning my kitchen after dinner and the value of ‘industriousness’.

I hope that you find this exercise just as interesting for finding your own values. I am interested to know how that exercise worked for you?

More than a fleeting feeling, values provide enduring contentment – true happiness?

You might find out a lot about yourself and what really matters to you by getting down to the core values that are meaningful to you. It can help in all sorts of areas, but particularly your career, where you might be doing something every day that does not move you in the direction of your most cherished values. Alternatively, these exercises might illustrate why you love your job so much.

The more you make decisions that help move you closer towards your values, the deeper and richer your life can be. Fleeting feelings of happiness are nice, but true happiness is composed of a more enduring contentment. This can be found by engaging in activities and pursuits that contribute to the value that is meaningful to YOU!

Never stop moving forward

Our work on values is ongoing. There are ways that you can learn more about yourself by being conscious of what makes you happy. I like to notice when something delights me and work backwards. I ask myself- why is that important? What is the basis of ongoing true happiness?

Good luck and let me know how you go!