How to

Identify Your
Values

(And why you

really should).

By Rob Archer – Director,

Bloom Psychology Ltd
Contents:
• Values Definition – slide 3
• Why Bother with Values? – slide 4
• The Epitaph Exercise – slide 5
• Identifying Values from Your Epitaph
– slides 6‐7
• Checklist! – slides 8
• Life Values Exercise (work, growth,
leisure, relationships) – slides 9‐13
• Values‐directed actions: work values
• Values
Values‐directed
directed actions: relationships
values
• Values‐directed actions: leisure values
• Values‐directed
Values directed actions:
actions growth values
 Values definition
• What do you want your life to be about?
• Values are the things that are most
important to you. Acting in accordance
with one’s values feels ggood, and actingg
against them tends to bring guilt.
• However, values are not emotions.
‘Feeling good’ is not enough; a deep
seated belief that ‘this
‘ h is theh reall me’’
is closer to it.
• Values can be thought of as preferences.
F example,
For l I could
ld say that
h I prefer
f iit
when I experience ‘achievement’ and
‘creativity’ in my work.
• core values are priority
But your ‘core’
preferences. For example, if ‘health’ is my
priority value, I’ll be likely to try and keep
fit and eat well. But if it’s 12th on my list,
I’ll be far less likely to do that.
• Values are therefore defined by Bloom as
priorities x preferences.
 Why bother with values?
• If you don’t think about what you want out of life, you run the
risk of not getting it.
• This isn’t
isn t about airy fairy dreaming – it
it’ss about conscious
living. By having a strong sense of self and of purpose, we are
better able to recall our most valued directions at critical
moments of our lives.
• In practical terms this means that if we know our values and
keep them top of mind, we’ll be more likely to act in
accordance with them.
• If you ddon’t’t kknow what’s
h t’ important
i t t you’ll’ll probably
b bl bbecome
what others want you to be. This may provide rewards but
you are paying a price for it...yourself!
• Therefore if there is no ‘self’
self in your decisions there will be
little meaning in them.
• You run the risk of your life drifting away, in directions you
don’t really want to go.
• Defining your values allows you to stop drifting and start
navigating. Surely, life’s too short to live unconsciously?
 Exercise: Write Your Own Epitaph
for Funnily enough,
Values are what you want your life to stand for. enough we find that thinking about your death is a good way
of bringing your life into perspective. This exercise will help you think about this.

How to do it
1. Start off with your name and a manner of death
you’d be happy with (if you see what we mean..!)
2
2. R f
Reference a lilist off your main
i accomplishments
li h
3. Describe in detail your greatest achievement of all
4
4. List the people you will be leaving behind
behind, and those
who will miss you the most.
5. Mention the people you helped
6. Identify the main questions that life asked you, and
how you responded.
7
7. Write it in a style that reflects the type of person you
were – let go! After all, you’re already dead!
Here Lies...
Name …

Born in...
Start typing here…
 Make a note of the values
yyou identified
f ffrom the
epitaph exercise in this space
e.g. Freedom, courage,
respect.
(If you struggle to identify a
value ask yourself: what is
this in the service of?)
 Checklist!
1. Is this value authentic?
A value doesn’t feel like a ‘should’,
‘should’ or a ‘must’
‘must’, it’s
more a feeling of ‘this is the real me’.

2. Is this what you want your

time on earth to be about?
Look at the picture of the earth, right. Think of all the
possible lives you could live in your short time here.
Is this value something you want to stand for?

3. Is this your voice speaking?

The final test is to ask yyourself whether each value is
really yours. If not, who else’s could it be? Don’t try
and please anyone else with your value.
 Instructions: think of 4 major parts of your life and
Relationships the values you hold in each. What’s important to you Work
in each of these areas? Write some key values in
Relationship values each section? What’s
What s most important to you in each Work values
section?

Your values

Growth,
G th L i
Leisure
development, Leisure values
wellbeing
Growth values
It’s what you choose with your feet, not your mind, that shows what you value.
Instructions: Consider what you actually do when you are honouring your relationship values. List these actions in the
box on the right.

Relationships

Relationship values:
(list your relationship values here)

Value‐directed
Value directed actions for
Relationships
What do you do
when you honour
this value?
(List the actions you take)
It’s what you choose with your feet, not your mind, that shows what you value.
Instructions: Consider what you actually do when you are honouring your relationship values. List these actions in the
box on the right.

Work

Work values:
(list your relationship values here)

Value‐directed
Value directed actions for
Work
What do you do
when you honour
this value?
(List the actions you take)
It’s what you choose with your feet, not your mind, that shows what you value.
Instructions: Consider what you actually do when you are honouring your relationship values. List these actions in the
box on the right.

Leisure

Leisure values:
(list your relationship values here)

Value‐directed
Value directed actions for
Leisure
What do you do
when you honour
this value?
(List the actions you take)
It’s what you choose with your feet, not your mind, that shows what you value.
Instructions: Consider what you actually do when you are honouring your relationship values. List these actions in the
box on the right.

Growth

Growth values:
(list your relationship values here)

Value‐directed
Value directed actions for
Growth
What do you do
when you honour
this value?
(List the actions you take)
 Bloom Psychology
is an independent occupational
psychology consultancy based
in London.
We offer coaching, consultancy,
training measurement and
training,
assessment to individuals and
businesses looking to make a
change for the better.

www.bloompsychology.com www.linkedin.com/robarcher