Values

Values. We’ve been talking about values a lot as a team this summer. The way they can change with the seasons of our lives. The way they can often be so clearly seen in us by the ones we loved. The way they can be a filter for decision-making.

I recently received a marketing email from author Cal Newport where he says this about values:

“Working backwards from your values to determine your activities creates a lifestyle dramatically more meaningful than working forward from whatever seems appealing in the moment. It’s the difference between resilience and anxiety; satisfaction and distraction.”

A lifestyle dramatically more meaningful than working forward from whatever seems appealing in the moment – that’s what I want. Knowing our values helps us fight FOMO, feel more confident in our yeses and nos, and builds a life that feels good on the inside.

If you haven’t recently done values work, check out this resource that we used in last year’s alum book club and that we have been using in workshops this year. It’s from Brene Brown’s book, “Dare to Lead.” I believe that knowing our values is the first step to being able to actively live a life that is authentically, magically, uniquely ours.

Keep up the good work, friends.

– Audra