CORE VALUES WORKSHEET
This worksheet is designed to guide you through the process of identifying your personal Core Values—those deeply held beliefs and principles that are akin to a compass in guiding your life. (Similarly, you can uncover your Family Core Values by using the handout below.)
If you would like to develop your own Core Values, use the handout below:
Download the Core Values HandoutWhat are Core Values?
Core Values are the irrefutable foundations from which we think, live, and relate. If life is a river that is going “swimmingly” well, they are the riverbanks that keep the waters from going in the right direction. Conversely, we can discover our Core Values when we reflect on a time that our life felt violated - as if our river banks were flooded - and we can usually see a Core Value that was absent or dishonored in that situation.
Everyone has 2-5 Core Values that are innate and embedded deep within us - they are not merely aspirational. Our personal story line will confirm our Core Values - when we ourselves have violated one of our Core Values, our conscience wooed us back. They shape our actions, decisions, and interactions with others. Knowing our Core Values allows us to live more free and true to who we are, leading to purposeful living.
Why Do They Matter?
Understanding our Core Values can help us:
- Make decisions that align with our true self.
- Navigate challenges with confidence and purpose.
- Build stronger relationships based on shared principles.
- Foster a sense of fulfillment by living authentically.
Identifying Your Core Values
You will be guided below through a series of 4 reflective exercises to help you discover and clarify your 2-5 Core Values. It will be like going on a treasure hunt! Keep in mind that the values of faith, family, and love are assumed. Once identified, you'll also define each value with examples to understand how they shape your choices and behavior.
Reflect on some great highlights of your life
Think about key moments in your life when you felt proud, fulfilled, or at peace. These might be achievements, challenges overcome, or experiences that brought you joy. Answer the questions below:
- What moments in your life have made you feel truly proud or fulfilled?
- Example: "When I helped a friend through a tough time."
- What values were present during those moments?
- Example: "Empathy, support, loyalty."
Reflect on a few of life's low points
Now think about times in your life when you felt unmoored, blindsided, or disappointed. These might be blindsides, betrayals, or dark times or challenges. Write down:
- What moments in your life have made you feel truly frustrated or defeated?
- Example: "When my divorce was final."
- What values were not present during those moments?
- Example: "Support, kindness, hope."
Detail your Core Values
From the list of the values you've now identified, select the 2-5 that are most meaningful to you or are duplicates. These should be different values that, if lived out cumulatively, would make you feel aligned with your authentic self. List out:
- Create a list of 2-5 Core Values
- Example: "Support."
- Craft a short definition
- Example: "I value loyalty and helpful encouragement."
- Give 1-2 examples of each
- Example: "Moving Eddie; Leslie's help in the divorce."
Align your Core Values throughout your life.
Reflect on how your Core Values show up in your life. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How are my Core Values currently guiding or undermining my decisions and actions? Where have they helped shape a recent decision or interaction? (Hint: You probably felt on top of the world!) In what area or situation have they been challenged lately? (Hint: You may have felt emotionally raw/uneasy/unsettled afterward.)
- How do I demonstrate my Values in my daily life? How do my Core Values affect how I am showing up in my marriage? How are they present in my parenting? Are my Core Values aligned with my key friendships? Am I applying my Values to my faith? How are they playing out in my work? How do I exhibit them towards my own self physically, mentally, and emotionally?
- Are there areas in my life where my Core Values need more attention? Are there some relationships that I may need to either put distance or healthy boundaries in place? How am I perhaps not living true to my Core Values in my job? Are those closest to me receiving the best of my Core Value alignment or the worst? What does my own conscience say about how I am calibrated internally with my Values?
Finally, put it all together.
Take a moment to reflect on how these core values shape the way you approach life. How can you align your actions, relationships, and goals more closely with these values moving forward? Write down 1-3 specific situations or areas that you can intentionally work on in the next quarter. The more specific you can be, the greater your chance of beginning to align your life to living out your Core Values.
-
- Example: Your final Core Values worksheet may look similar to this:
Voilà! You've created your Core Values.
Now go and live your Core Values out with intention! Here are some ideas to keep them front and center that have worked for others:
- Paste them in your medicine cabinet to review morning and evening while brushing your teeth
- Put them on a kitchen cabinet to remind you of them during meal prep
- Place them in your phone notes to glance at when you are in a line (versus the doom scroll!)
- Make them into a card to put next to your bed to review before bed
As you review your Core Values at night, ask yourself where they played out for you that day and/or perhaps where you were misaligned. You can also review them in the morning to proactively think through areas where you can intentionally step into a Core Value that day. Regardless of how you keep them current, they will help you to live with alignment and with intention.
NOTE: On the downloadable worksheet (found on the link above) you can discover how to create your Family Core Values as well. Have fun!
