Personal values discovery: Identify and live your values

Discover your internal compass — use the Live Your Values deck to identify what matters most, and how to live it.

Our values are important because they can help us to grow and develop, and create the future we want to experience. Our values are different from our beliefs.

In preparation for the workshop, write a paragraph describing the difference between values and beliefs, and provide an example of someone you know whose values you admire and why.

Values are our internal compass, guiding our decisions, shaping our behaviours, and providing a sense of purpose and meaning in life. They influence how we interact with the world, impacting our choices, motivations, and even our sense of self. In this workshop, participants will use the "Live your values deck" by Lisa Congdon and Andrea Niculescu to identify their values and how they can live them.

Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work.

They inform your priorities, and, deep down, they're probably the measures you use to tell if your life is turning out the way you want it to.

When the things that you do and the way you behave match your values, life is usually good – you're satisfied and content. But when these don't align with your personal values, that's when things feel wrong. This can be a real source of unhappiness.

In this workshop, you will use the cards to sort, select and identify your top 10 values. And reflect on the way your values inform your decisions and actions.

In the workshop, you will have access to the Live you values deck by Lisa Congdon and Andreea Niculescu.

You can borrow the cards to take home for your reflection activities. Or you may like to purchase your own cards to share with friends and family, and do again yourself in the future.

The Live Your Values Deck by Lisa Congdon

After the workshop, keep a notebook and record your observations of your values in action.

For at least a week, write down when you were conscious of using your values to make a decision, determine a course of action, or respond to a situation.

Reflect on how you live you values, and any values you want to be more intentional about.

You may like to write a reflection of why you chose each of your values, or think of a story about each one and why it resonated with you.